CELEBRITY
Shirtless Messi dances night away after keeping World Cup storyline alive
A shirtless Lionel Messi sang and danced with team mates beyond midnight into Sunday after leading Argentina to an emotionally-charged win over Mexico that revived his dream of a first World Cup title.
The dressing-room party scenes – Messi bouncing with both arms in the air, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez dancing on a table – showed just how much this tournament means to Argentina and their captain in his fifth and final chance to lift the trophy.
Argentina have one of the most talented teams in Qatar, but they are under more pressure than most and are struggling to reproduce the free-flowing form of their three-year, 36-match unbeaten run before the tournament.
So it was understandable to see their release of tension after beating Mexico 2-0 to ignite their tournament after a shock opening defeat by Saudi Arabia. Though in truth they laboured in the first half against a mediocre Mexico team, they celebrated as if they had won the World Cup itself.
“It’s a weight off our shoulder,” said the 35-year-old Messi, for whom this tournament is now the be-all and end-all of his dazzling career for club and country.
After scoring the first goal against Mexico, his second of Argentina’s three at the tournament, Messi charged towards fans screaming in joy. Assistant coach Pablo Aimar, who was Messi’s boyhood idol, fought back tears on the bench.
‘MESSI AND MARADONA ARE ONE’
Argentines have sometimes struggled to warm to their little genius, in part because he has not delivered the biggest trophy of all, but also due to his shy and quiet demeanour compared to the flamboyant clowning of their beloved former golden boy Diego Maradona.
Such ambivalence now seems firmly in the past, however, as Messi has shown over-and-over how committed he is to the shirt, not least when he collapsed in tears last year after leading the team to the Copa America title to end a 28-year trophy drought.
At last, there are more flags and banners with his name and face than of the late great previous No. 10. Many in fact show the two together, arm-in-arm or Maradona looking beatifically down on Messi from heaven.
Should Messi go all the way, he will of course directly match Maradona, who led Argentina to a famous 1986 World Cup win including his famous “Hand of God” and best-ever tournament goals against England en route.
If he stumbles, however, he will stay in Maradona’s shadow but it seems he will anyway still be revered by Argentines, who have come to appreciate the passion and pain he has truly felt in the blue-and-white.
“Did you see how he ran to us and celebrated with us? This is our Messi. Now he is also our Maradona. They are one!” said Argentine fan Rodrigo Castro, 34, celebrating euphorically outside the Lusail Stadium into the early hours of Monday.
Coach Lionel Scaloni was happy to see his players enjoy the moment in the dressing room but knows the weight of expectations are shackling his players. Even Messi looked slow and made basic errors prior to scoring against Mexico and relaxing into the player everyone knows.
“It’s difficult to make people understand that tomorrow the sun will shine whether you lose or you win,” Scaloni said, trying to make sense of the constant circus around his team.
“Happiness lasts only for some minutes. We need to find that emotional balance, whether we win or lose.”
Once the emotions die down, Scaloni must prepare for Poland in Argentina’s final group game when only a win would guarantee them passage to the knockout round and one step closer to fulfilling Messi’s dream.
-Reuters
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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