CELEBRITY
Ronaldo in limbo as Europe’s elite turn their backs on Man United star
Cristiano Ronaldo faces an uncertain future after the Manchester United striker’s attempt to force his way out of Old Trafford failed to spark the expected rush for his signature.
The Portugal superstar shocked United earlier this month with his bombshell exit request after the team’s failure to qualify for the Champions League.
Ronaldo would have anticipated a host of top clubs jostling to sign him.
But for the first time in his glittering career he is no longer a must-have item for Europe’s wealthy elite as Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain all appear to have turned their backs on the forward.
Concerns over Ronaldo’s declining work-rate and his notoriously demanding personality have left the 37-year-old in limbo.
Chelsea co-owner Todd Boehly was reported to have spoken to Ronaldo’s agent Jorge Mendes about a deal to mark the new era at Stamford Bridge.
But Blues boss Thomas Tuchel is believed to have concerns about trying to integrate Ronaldo into his plans for a fluid front three after signing Raheem Sterling from Manchester City.
“We focused on our top target Raheem Sterling who we signed and everything else stays behind closed doors,” Tuchel said when asked about Ronaldo.
Selling Robert Lewandowski to Barcelona could have created space for Ronaldo at Bayern, but the German champions’ CEO Oliver Kahn poured cold water on that idea.
“As highly as I rate Cristiano Ronaldo as one of the greatest, a transfer wouldn’t be a fit with our philosophy,” he said.
“I love Cristiano Ronaldo and everyone knows how fantastic he is. But every club has a certain philosophy and I’m not sure if it would be the right thing for Bayern and the Bundesliga if we signed him now.”
United manager Erik ten Hag has repeatedly stated the club’s public position that Ronaldo is “not for sale”.
Yet, although Ronaldo finished as United’s top scorer last season, there is a growing sense in Manchester that his departure could benefit Ten Hag’s chances of building a side more suited to the style he created at Ajax.
United have flourished without Ronaldo on a pre-season tour of Asia and Australia, scoring 11 goals in victories over Liverpool, Melbourne Victory and Crystal Palace.
A dynamic front three of Marcus Rashford, Anthony Martial and Jadon Sancho has shown what they are capable of.
All three of those players struggled last season after Ronaldo’s arrival changed the style of a United side that had finished second in the Premier League the season before.
Ronaldo’s time at Juventus also coincided with a decline in European results for the Italian giants, despite his goalscoring record of 101 goals in 134 games.
After witnessing two European giants struggle to accommodate the ageing five-time Ballon d’Or winner, there are few takers for the veteran goal-scorer.
Ronaldo’s iconic status at United, established in his trophy-laden first spell with the club, has also lost some of its lustre.
Andy Mitten, journalist and editor of the United We Stand fanzine, said: “His arrival was sprung on United at the last minute and the team which had finished third and second had to rip up their tactics and start again.
“They don’t see Ronaldo as United’s future and there are plenty of fans who’d go along with that.”
United’s rivals Manchester City, who won the race for Borussia Dortmund’s Erling Haaland, and Liverpool, who spent a fee that could rise to 100 million euros (S$142 million) on Benfica’s Darwin Nunez, both opted to sign younger forwards just entering their prime.
A return to Real Madrid, where Ronaldo starred from 2009 to 2018, seems unlikely given Karim Benzema’s brilliant displays in their Champions League and La Liga-winning campaign last season.
Even PSG, habitual collectors of football’s marquee names, seem to be out of the running.
A switch to Real’s rivals Atletico Madrid remains a possibility, but with his options dwindling, Ronaldo may have to swallow his pride and stay at Old Trafford.
If that is too much for his ego to take, one last payday in the United States or Saudi Arabia could loom as definitive evidence of Ronaldo’s decline.
-AFP
Cristiano Ronaldo has become the first footballer to reach billionaire status, according to the latest Bloomberg Billionaires Index, which has valued the Portugal great’s net worth at an estimated $1.4 billion.
The 40-year-old striker’s financial ascent comes after he signed a new contract with Saudi side Al-Nassr in June reportedly worth more than $400 million.
Bloomberg said that Ronaldo earned more than $550 million in salary between 2002 and 2023, supplemented by a decade-long Nike deal worth nearly $18 million annually, and lucrative endorsements with Armani, Castrol and others that added more than $175 million to his fortune.
Ronaldo’s move to Al-Nassr from Manchester United in 2023 had already made him the highest-paid player in football history, with an annual salary of 177 million pounds ($237.52 million), plus bonuses and a reported 15% share in his Saudi Arabia club.
Argentina and Inter Miami forward Lionel Messi has earned more than $600 million in pre-tax salary during his career.
Ronaldo’s billionaire status places him among a rare group of athletes that includes basketball greats Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson and LeBron James, golfer Tiger Woods and tennis player Roger Federer.
Ronaldo suggested he is not considering retirement any time soon.
“I still have a passion for this,” he said at the Portugal Football Globes gala on Tuesday. “My family says it’s time to quit and they ask me why I want to score 1000 goals if I’ve already scored 900-something. But I don’t think that way inside.
“I’m still producing good things, I’m helping my club and the national team. Why not continue? I am sure that when I finish I will leave full because I gave everything of myself. I know I don’t have many years left to play, but the few I have left, I have to enjoy them to the fullest.”
-Reuters
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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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