Tag: Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al Nassr crashed out of the Asian Champions League Elite semi-finals when they were beaten 3-2 by Japan’s Kawasaki Frontale.

Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the UEFA Champions League, hit the woodwork with a first-half header in Jeddah and spurned a golden opportunity right at the death.

The Al Nassr captain, still to win a major trophy in his two and a half years in Saudi Arabia, left the pitch shaking his head.

Frontale, who were contesting their first Champions League semi-final, will now meet Jeddah-based Saudi Pro League club Al Ahli in Saturday’s showpiece.

They become only the fifth Japanese club to reach the final of the continent’s premier competition.

Frontale, who edged 2011 champions Al Sadd of Qatar 3-2 in extra-time on Sunday, began the semi-final with only one foreign player in their starting line-up, in stark contrast to big-spending Al Nassr’s seven.

It was Frontale who took a surprise lead on 10 minutes, when Tatsuya Ito met a looping clearance from Mohamed Simakan and sent a superb volley from the edge of the Al Nassr penalty area high into the top corner past Brazil goalkeeper Bento.

But just before the half-hour mark, Sadio Mane levelled.

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The former Liverpool forward cut in from the left and then watched as his effort took a heavy deflection off Frontale stand-in captain Yuichi Maruyama, which was just enough to beat goalkeeper Louis Yamaguchi.

Soon after, Ronaldo attempted an audacious overhead kick but sent it well wide, while a minute later, he out jumped his marker to crash a close-range header against the upright.

However, four minutes before half-time, Frontale restored their lead.

Ito pounced on a loose ball and powered through Al Nassr’s flimsy defence only to see his effort blocked by Bento, but Yuto Ozeki finished the rebound expertly.

Al Nassr were all at sea at the back and in midfield, forcing manager Stefano Pioli to immediately make a double substitution.

Former Manchester City defender Aymeric Laporte replaced Ali Lajami, while Ali Al Hassan made way for winger Angelo, a summer signing from Chelsea.

In the second half, Bento got a touch to deny what seemed a certain third for Frontale but it mattered little when, with 14 minutes remaining, Laporte let Erison ghost past him on the Al Nassr byline before crossing for Akihiro Ienaga to volley home.

Substitute Ayman Yahya reduced the deficit in injury time to give Al Nassr hope, with Colombia international Jhon Duran wasting a brilliant chance moment later.

Yamaguchi denied Ronaldo twice in quick succession deep into injury time, before the Portugal captain then failed to make contact when through on goal, as the Japanese side held out for a famous victory.

Brazil legend Ronaldo announced he was giving up on the idea of running for president of the country’s football governing body due to a lack of support from regional federations.

 “After publicly declaring my desire to be a candidate for the presidency of the CBF during the next election, I’m officially withdrawing this intention,” the two-time Ballon d’Or winner wrote on social media.

 “If the majority of those who have the power to decide feel that football is in good hands, it doesn’t matter what I think,” he quipped.

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The 48-year-old said in December he wanted to take the reins of the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) to address a “deep crisis” the sport is facing nationally.

But the two-time World Cup winner said 23 of the 27 regional federations representing the various states of Brazil refused to listen to his proposals.

Instead, he said they had expressed their “support for the re-election” of current president Ednaldo Rodrigues in 2026.

Rodrigues has been criticised for turning to interim coaches for the national team after Tite’s departure following Brazil’s quarter-final exit at the 2022 World Cup while waiting for Carlo Ancelotti to arrive.

That never materialised as Ancelotti decided to stay with Real Madrid, with Dorival Junior eventually being appointed at the start of last year.

Cristiano Ronaldo again topped the list of the world’s highest-paid athletes, opens new tab with total income of $260 million in 2024, according to sports industry news site Sportico, but there were no women in the top 100.

The leading 100, dominated by players from soccer, the NBA, NFL, golf and boxing, earned an estimated $6.2 billion in total income last year. The figure includes $4.8 billion in salary and prize money, plus $1.4 billion in endorsements.

Former U.S. Open tennis champion Coco Gauff was the top-earning female athlete last year at $30.4 million, well short of Minnesota Vikings quarterback Daniel Jones who squeezed in at number 100 with a total income of $37.5 million.

Ronaldo’s lucrative contract with Saudi Arabian soccer team Al-Nassr ensured he retained top spot for a second straight year after he moved to the Saudi Pro League in December 2022.

Sportico said the Portugal forward, who celebrated his 40^th  birthday last week, earned a hefty $215 million in wages while he also made $45 million in endorsements.

Ronaldo is so far ahead of the other athletes in the world that Golden State Warriors guard Stephen Curry, who is second on the list, earned $153.8 million in comparison — more than $100 million short of the five-times Ballon d’Or winner.

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British boxer Tyson Fury, who lost to Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk in a heavyweight clash in December, is third on the list at $147 million.

The top five are rounded out by Inter Miami’s Argentina captain Lionel Messi ($135 million) and Los Angeles Lakers forward LeBron James ($133.2 million) — the only 40-year-old currently playing in the NBA.

The top 100 is made up of athletes from eight sports and hailing from 27 countries.

While American Gauff, who is only 20, could climb up the list in the years to come, there have been other women athletes who would have cracked the list in the past.

Business magazine Forbes said Japan’s four-times Grand Slam tennis champion Naomi Osaka was the world’s highest-paid female athlete in 2022 after she pulled in $57.3 million in prize money and endorsements.

Retired tennis great Serena Williams, who won 23 singles majors, earned $41.8 million in 2021 according to Forbes. The American retired from the sport in 2022 at the U.S. Open.

Cristiano Ronaldo has revealed his aspirations to own several football clubs once his playing career is over.

Having now turned 40, Ronaldo has reflected on his playing career and is looking to the future. The Al-Nassr star has showed few signs of slowing down in the Saudi Pro League, and has scored four goals in his last three games building up to his birthday, after netting 23 times in 25 appearances this season.

Ronaldo’s next steps are on his mind. Ronaldo has no interest in moving into management or coaching, but does want to remain in football.

The five-times Ballon d’Or winner instead wants to move into ownership. One club is not enough to satisfy his ambitions, however.

 “It doesn’t make a lot of sense to be director of a club. If I can be a club owner, why would I be a manager, sporting director or CEO?” told Portuguese television station Canal 11.

“That is a dream of mine and I am sure I’ll be a club owner. And I’ll tell you more. I hope to have not just one club, but several clubs.”

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Ronaldo would join an illustrious selection of players who have moved into ownership. David Beckham has a stake in Inter Milan, while his namesake Ronaldo Nazario has enjoyed ownership of Real Valladolid and previously Cruzeiro.

Such a move would also see Ronaldo follow in the footsteps of former team-mates Gary Neville and Ryan Giggs, who as part of the Class of 92, own Salford City.

Ronaldo has also opened up on his relationship with Lionel Messi. The pair were fearsome rivals as the fulcrums of Real Madrid and Barcelona and divided opinion over who was the world’s best player.

The ex-Madrista revealed that their connection was friendlier than it could often appear however. Ronaldo admitted they pushed each other to greater heights.

“Messi? The rivalry was healthy,” he told Chiringuito. “I’ve never had a bad relationship. On the contrary. We shared the stage at the awards for 15 years and we always got along very well. And I even remember that at one I used to translate what they said in English.

“I translated for him, it was funny. He always treated me well. Obviously, he defended his club, I defended mine; he defended his national team, and I defended mine. I think we did help each other improve.

“I think there were years when he wanted to play everything and score, so did I. It was a healthy fight. I loved playing in the Camp Nou. They booed me, they insulted me, and I loved it!

Al-Nassr’s new coach Stefano Pioli has praised Cristiano Ronaldo‘s still youthful passion and said working with him was a major factor in accepting the Saudi Pro League team’s offer.

The former A.C. Milan coach replaced Luis Castro last month and began with seven wins, before losing to Al-Taawoun in the Saudi Cup where the usually prolific 39-year-old Ronaldo missed a penalty in additional time.

“Of course, I have always thought that Cristiano is a great champion”, Pioli told the Saudi Pro League’s media service on Wednesday. “But above all, a great professional with a great work ethic, a great culture of always trying to express oneself to the maximum.

“And therefore, I am discovering a boy who is no longer young, but with the same enthusiasm, with the same passion.

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“As when he was a kid, he wanted to do things in wanting to always try to give the best, to reach the maximum, to score many goals and help the team. So, definitely a pleasant surprise”.

The 59-year-old Italian said that he was very happy to be approached by Al-Nassr as he wanted a new experience.

“The fact that there is Cristiano in the team was also an important thing and so I accepted very willingly with a lot of enthusiasm, with a great desire to be able to do well,” he said.

Al-Nassr, third with 18 points, face league leaders Al-Hilal on Friday in the Riyadh derby.

Erik ten Hag  has brushed aside Cristiano Ronaldo’s criticism about his ambition at struggling Manchester United, saying the Portugal star is “far from Manchester”.

Ronaldo’s second spell at United ended in a high-profile break-up in November 2022 after he made stinging comments about his Dutch boss.

The 39-year-old Al-Nassr player again hit out at Ten Hag this week, saying his attitude was too negative for a club of the stature of United.

Ronaldo told the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast: “Manchester United coach, you cannot say that you’re not going to fight to win the (Premier) League or Champions League.

 “You have to be, to mentally say, ‘Listen, maybe we don’t have that potential but I cannot say that. We’re going to try.’ You have to try.”

He also said the club need to “rebuild everything” and that it “will be difficult” for them to challenge for the biggest trophies.

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Ferdinand was a teammate of Ronaldo’s during his trophy-laden first spell at United, from 2003 to 2009.

Ten Hag has said he is “quite confident” of claiming more silverware this campaign after lifting the League Cup and FA Cup over the past two seasons.

But he said in July his team are a “long way away” from being ready to win the Premier League, with United not crowned champions of England since Alex Ferguson’s final season in charge in 2013.

When Ronaldo’s comments about his mentality were put to him at a Thursday press conference, Ten Hag said: