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Cristiano Ronaldo ‘A Waste Of Money’ – Napoli President, Aurelio De Laurentiis

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6 years ago

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Napoli President Aurelio De Laurentiis has described Juventus signing of Cristiano Ronaldo as “A Waste Of Money”.

Juventus paid Real Madrid £105m earlier this summer for the Portuguese.

The deal will see Ronaldo earn £106m over the four years on his current contract.

The 33-year-old has had his first training session with new Juventus teammates today in Turin.

And Napoli Presi De Laurentiis has mocked the deal.

“Spending so much money to buy only one player at the end of his career is very dangerous,” De Laurentiis told La Vertia.

“Let’s remember that Cristiano Ronaldo is of a certain age and in terms of the club’s balancing of accounts his signing is a risky move.

“The signing of Ronaldo is out of any standard.

“If you start to pay such absurd and out-of-the-ordinary salaries, sooner or later this turns against you.”

By signing Ronaldo, Juventus became the first Italian club to break  the £100m barrier for incoming transfer.

They also smashed the previous transfer record in Italy by landing Gonzalo Higuain from Napoli in a £75m deal two years ago.

“(Ronaldo) has at his side what – perhaps- is the most intelligent of sports agents: Jorge Mendes,” De Laurentiis added.

“I had been with him for breakfast in Portugal and in those days we talked about the goalkeeper Rui Patricio.

“Then, when it was clear that Real wanted to left home (Real Madrid), he called me and said: ‘Listen Aurelio, can we play this game?’

“Was it too expensive? Nah. That said, it’s a nonsense. I imagined a model in which the costs were matched exclusively with the proceeds mirrored to the relative costs of the operation.

“I had told Mendes: ‘Do you think that Ronaldo will make me rich? If so, we do it so the first €250m turnover goes to Napoli, and the next €100m are due to Ronaldo’.

“If he could actually earn (those figures), he would have nothing to risk or to fear.

“But then Juve arrived, and – behind FCA (Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, who have part-funded the Ronaldo deal) – raised the stakes.”

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Juventus ordered to pay Ronaldo €9.7m unpaid salaries

Published

7 days ago

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April 18, 2024 10:01 am

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Juventus must pay Portuguese star Cristiano Ronaldo 9.7 million euros ($10.4 million) in back wages for the 2020-21 season, the Italian courts announced on Wednesday.

The Court of Arbitration, to which Ronaldo appealed, “orders Juventus Turin to pay the sum of 9,774,166.66 euros”, plus interest and procedural costs, it stated in its decision.

The sum equates to the difference between the salary actually received by Ronaldo and that which he should have received after tax and other deductions.

Ronaldo, who spent three seasons in Italy with Juventus (2018-21) before joining Manchester United (2021-22) and then the Saudi club Al Nassr, was claiming 19.5 million euros but the arbitration panel reduced that by 50 per cent.

Contacted by AFP, Juventus declined to comment, but said it would be issuing a statement “shortly”.

According to the rankings drawn up by the American business magazine Forbes, the five-time Ballon d’Or winner was the world’s highest-paid sportsman in 2023, with $136 million, including $46 million in wages.

Juventus, who are listed on the stock exchange, recorded losses of 123.7 million euros in the 2022-23 financial year, which ran to the end of June, it announced in October.

No provision has been made in the accounts of Italian football’s most successful club, currently third in Serie A, for the payment of this wages backlog.

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EPL to adopt semi-automated offside technology next season

Published

2 weeks ago

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April 13, 2024 12:19 pm

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The English Premier League (EPL) says semi-automated offside technology will be used in matches from next season.

The league announced the decision in a statement on its website on Thursday.

The decision was made after a unanimous agreement by all the clubs at a Premier League Shareholders’ meeting.

The technology will be ready for use from the 2024/25 season after the autumn international breaks.

“The new system will be used for the first time in the Premier League next season, and it is anticipated the technology will be ready to be introduced after one of the autumn international breaks,” the statement reads.

“The technology will provide quicker and consistent placement of the virtual offside line, based on optical player tracking, and will produce high-quality broadcast graphics to ensure an enhanced in-stadium and broadcast experience for supporters.”

The first usage of the semi-automated offside technology in top-level football was at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

The offside rule has been subjected to change in recent years, with the video assistant referee (VAR) technology also deployed to assist the on-field officials in checking for offside calls leading to a goal.

The EPL further updated its offside rule in the summer of 2023 to include that “a player who is clearly offside should not become onside on every occasion when an opponent moves and touches the ball.”

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Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya sets to break Guinness World Record

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2 weeks ago

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April 13, 2024 12:17 pm

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Nigerian chess master, Tunde Onakoya has revealed plans to break the Guinness World Record for the longest chess marathon.

Onakoya who made the plan known on his X account on Friday said that he is “doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education.”

He added that the attempt will hold on April 17th at the New York City’s Times Square and he is to play chess for 58 hours without a single defeat.

He wrote, “On the 17th of April 2024, I will attempt to break the Guiness World record for the longest Chess marathon in the heart of Times Square New York City for 58 hours without losing a game. Doing this for the dreams of millions of children across Africa without access to education.”

Onakoya disclosed that the attempt will start at 10am and would be available for all to stream on YouTube.

He appealed to Nigerians residing in New York, urging them to come forward and provide their enthusiastic support as he strives to establish a new world record.

Tunde Onakoya is renowned for his philanthropic efforts, notably utilizing chess as a tool to offer opportunities for young people residing in the marginalized areas, often referred to as ‘slums,’ within the country.

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Bodex F. Hungbo, SPMIIM is a multiple award-winning Nigerian Digital Media Practitioner, Digital Strategist, PR consultant, Brand and Event Expert, Tv Presenter, Tier-A Blogger/Influencer, and a top cobbler in Nigeria.

She has widespread experiences across different professions and skills, which includes experiences in; Marketing, Media, Broadcasting, Brand and Event Management, Administration and Management with prior stints at MTN, NAPIMS-NNPC, GLOBAL FLEET OIL AND GAS, LTV, Silverbird and a host of others

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