CELEBRITY
Behold the two £22million luxury homes offered Lionel Messi in Paris
Lionel Messi’s dramatic departure from Barcelona earlier this month was the biggest football transfer story of the year.
The 34-year-old was forced to end a two-decade association with the Blaugrana as they could not register his new contract with authorities, while he subsequently joined Paris Saint-Germain on a two-year contract.
While the immediate focus has inevitably been on the sporting focus on the move with Messi integrating into his new club’s training sessions and preparing for his debut, his focus is now turning to personal practicalities.
According to UK’s Mirror, Messi has had to leave his long-term residence in Catalonia to make the move to Paris with his wife Antonela Roccuzzo and their three sons – Thiago, Mateo and Ciro.
Now there are a host of upmarket estate agents in the French capital bending over backwards to try and find a home for the Argentine superstar and his young family.
Messi and his family are currently residing in the five-star, £17,000-a-night Le Royal Monceau hotel in the city – and whilst those surroundings are particularly luxurious, it is not practical to base themselves there for the long term.
They are now being offered the choice between two plush pads in the French capital, each of which cost a little over £22million.
The luxury facilities at the prospective properties including swimming pools, personalised gyms and plentiful space.
Messi is earning £1million-a-week after signing for the French giants and many of his teammates are based in the west of the capital due to its close proximity to their Le Parc des Princes stadium and the club’s training ground.
Star forward Neymar, for example, lives in a five-storey, 10,800 square foot mansion in the fancy suburb of Bougival – located 15km from the centre of the city.
The area of Neuilly-sur-Seine has been suggested as a possible destination due to its ease of access not only to the club’s facilities but also to schools and facilities for the family.
The district of Villa Montmorency is another potential destination due to its prime location, luxurious home and its plentiful supply of restaurants and cafes.
Yvelines is to the north-west of the city and is thought to be an attractive possibility that would offer Messi and his family the relatively quiet life they seek, but its distance from the city may prove problematic.
It is still unclear if Messi is looking to buy or rent a property – he has only signed a two-year contract at the Parisian club so his stay in the city is unlikely to be a long-term one.
Many Parisians, even those who are extremely wealthy, live-in apartments – family homes that have gardens and the luxuries of high-end property often are not available within the city walls, particularly those that are rentals.
Earlier this month, Antonin Thomas of Daniel-Féau, who represents an estate agents who have secured properties for PSG stars previously, told Le Parisien as quoted by Diario AS : “They want to be treated like any client.
“They want the same as they have in Barcelona – a contemporary house with a very clean look, one that does not need any work done on it and has a garden and a swimming pool.
Former England soccer captain David Beckham and actor Gary Oldman were knighted in King Charles’ annual birthday honours list on Saturday, while sculptor Antony Gormley was made a Companion of Honour.
Beckham, 50, joined Manchester United as a trainee in 1993, going on to make almost 400 appearances for the club where he won a string of titles and cups.
He subsequently played for Real Madrid, LA Galaxy, and Inter Milan, as well as captaining his country 58 times and making 115 appearances.
His marriage to fashion designer and former Spice Girl Victoria Beckham in 1999 cemented a celebrity status which went far beyond his sporting exploits.
Oldman, 67, started his career on the stage, where he was a member of the Royal Shakespeare Company, before rising to prominence in film. He won the best actor Oscar for playing Winston Churchill in the 2017 drama “Darkest Hour”.
He also had roles in the “Dark Knight Trilogy” and the “Harry Potter” movie series and more recently starred in the TV spy drama “Slow Horses”.
Other famous names receiving honours included damehoods for musical theatre star Elaine Paige, novelist Pat Barker and ceramics maker Emma Bridgewater.
Roger Daltrey, lead singer of rock band the Who and a patron of the Teenage Cancer Trust, received a knighthood for services to charity.
More than 1,200 people received honours for their achievements, with a particular focus on those who had given their time to public service, the government said.
King Charles’ official birthday will be celebrated with the annual “Trooping the Colour” military parade in London on Saturday. His actual birthday is on November 14
-Reuters
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One of three judges in Diego Maradona’s closely scrutinized homicide trial in Argentina resigned on Tuesday amid a scandal triggered by the alleged filming of an unauthorised documentary, bringing uncertainty to the future of legal proceedings.
The high-profile trial over the death of soccer star Maradona began on March 11 in the South American country where the World Cup winner is still revered.
-Reuters
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For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The League of Wealthy Sportsmen
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
For the third year in a row, and the fifth time overall, Cristiano Ronaldo is the world’s highest-paid athlete.
But at age 40, the Portuguese soccer superstar is reaching new highs.
Over the past 12 months, counting both his playing salary at Saudi Arabia’s Al-Nassr and his off-field business endeavors, Ronaldo collected an estimated $275 million before taxes and agent fees—the third-best year by an active athlete ever measured by Forbes.
On that all-time list, Ronaldo is surpassed only by boxer Floyd Mayweather, who earned $300 million in 2015 and $285 million in 2018.
And when it comes to the 2025 leaderboard, Ronaldo has a $119 million advantage over No. 2, Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry.
The gap is especially impressive considering that Curry’s $156 million total is also a record for his sport, beating the NBA mark of $128.2 million set last year by LeBron James.
And there are plenty of other eye-popping paydays among this year’s 10 highest-paid athletes, starting with James, who notched a personal-best $133.8 million to land at No. 6. Meanwhile, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (No. 4, $137million) and New York Mets outfielder Juan Soto (No. 7, $114 million) broke records for the NFL and MLB.
Combined, the 10 highest-paid athletes brought in $1.4 billion, up slightly from last year’s $1.38 billion and the largest total since Forbes began ranking athlete earnings in 1990.
This year is also only the second time, after 2024, that every member of the top 10 made at least $100 million.
In fact, heavyweight boxing champion Oleksandr Usyk ($101 million) and golfer Jon Rahm ($100 million) reached the milestone, too, without managing to crack this list.
World’s Highest-Paid Athletes 2025
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