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  • Pelé remembered for transcending soccer around world

    Pelé remembered for transcending soccer around world

    NEW YORK — Pelé was remembered for a life beyond the field, for transcending the sport of soccer and becoming perhaps the most well-known person on Earth.

    “Before Pelé, ’10′ was just a number,” current Brazil forward Neymar wrote following the soccer great’s death Thursday at the age of 82. “That line, beautiful, is incomplete. I would say that before Pelé soccer was just a sport. Pelé changed everything. He transformed soccer into art, entertainment. He gave voice to the poor, to the Black and above all he gave Brazil visibility. Soccer and Brazil elevated their standing thanks to the King! He is gone, but his magic will endure.”

    Pelé scored 12 goals in 14 World Cup matches and is the only three-time world champion, winning titles in 1958, 1962 and 1970. His death was especially impactful for generations of Brazilian players who idolized him.

    “Today Brazil waves goodbye to one of its most illustrious children,” wrote Romario, a 1994 World Cup champion who used Pelé’s full name in his post. “Edson Arantes do Nascimento made the world bow to his talent and took Brazilian soccer to the altar of gods. Throughout his life, Pelé inspired generations of athletes and deserves every tribute.”

    Ronaldo, who led Brazil to a fifth World Cup title in 2002, described Pelé as “Unique. Genius. Skilled. Creative. Perfect. Unmatched.”

    “What a privilege to come after you, my friend,” Ronaldo wrote. “Your talent is a school through which every player should go. Your legacy transcends generations. And that is the way you will continue to live.”

    Pelé was a revered sports figure to a level probably not comparable to any athlete other than Muhammad Ali. As comfortable mingling with heads of states and celebrities as he was evading defenders, Pelé made an impact in capitals across continents.

    “As one of the most recognizable athletes in the world, he understood the power of sports to bring people together,” former U.S. President Barack Obama wrote.

    President Joe Biden tweeted: “For a sport that brings the world together like no other, Pelé’s rise from humble beginnings to soccer legend is a story of what is possible.”

    Pelé’s greatest impact was in Brazil, a unifying figure celebrated during the 2014 World Cup.

    “I saw Pelé play, live, at Pacaembu and Morumbi (stadiums),” former Brazil President and current President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva wrote. “Play, no. I saw Pelé give a show. Because when he got the ball he always did something special, which often ended in a goal. … Few Brazilians took the name of our country as far as he did. As different from Portuguese as one’s language was, foreigners from the four corners of the planet soon found a way to pronounce the magic word: ‘Pelé.’”

    For a half-century, people who knew the name of only one soccer player knew Pelé.

    “He made people dream and continued to do that with generations and generations of lovers of our sport,” France coach Didier Deschamps said in a statement. “Who, as a child, didn’t dream of being Pelé? … Pelé was the alliance of beauty and efficiency. His talent and his list of achievements will stay engraved in our minds forever.”

    French soccer star Kylian Mbappé tied Pelé for sixth in career World Cup goals with a hat trick in this month’s loss to Argentina in the final. Four years ago, Mbappé became only the second teenager — after Pelé — to score a goal in a World Cup final.

    “The king of football has left us but his legacy will never be forgotten,” Mbappé wrote.

    “Pelé not only filled football stadiums with exhilaration but he filled hearts and homes with hope and the knowledge that adversity was surmountable,” South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said in a statement Friday. “His endurance and impact on the field of play inspired the resilience with which Pelé worked for peace and justice globally.”

    When Pelé’s condition worsened last month during the World Cup in Qatar, get well messages were flashed on the sides of buildings in Doha. The English Football Association lit Wembley Stadium’s arch in Brazil’s colors on Wednesday night. FIFA, soccer’s governing body, changed its website’s homepage to photos of Pelé with a black background.

    “Pelé did things that no other player would even dream of,” FIFA president Gianni Infantino wrote. “The sight of him punching the air in celebration is one of the most iconic in our sport, and is etched into our history. In fact, because televised football was still in his infancy at the time, we only saw small glimpses of what he was capable of.”

    When Pelé played for the New York Cosmos of the North American Soccer League from 1975-77, he helped spark soccer’s rise in the United States, leading to the nation hosting the World Cup in 1994.

    “Pele was truly a remarkable figure — on and off the field,” said FIFA Council member Sunil Gulati, a former U.S. Soccer Federation president. “The world has lost a once in a lifetime sportsman who leaves an extraordinary legacy.”

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    AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports and https://twitter.com/AP—Sports

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  • Messi, Ronaldo among world’s highest-paid athletes in 2022; Kohli only cricketer in Top 100

    Messi, Ronaldo among world’s highest-paid athletes in 2022; Kohli only cricketer in Top 100

    Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, arguably the world’s two most popular footballers, who may be playing their last FIFA World Cup this year, are among the highest-paid athletes too.

    Messi is ranked second with earnings of $122 million, followed by Ronaldo at third with yearly earnings of $115 million in Sportico’s 100 Highest-Paid Athletes in the World 2022 list. This includes their match salaries as well as endorsement earnings. Brazilian footballer Neymar ranked fourth with earnings of $103 million.

    Basketball icon LeBron James, meanwhile, emerged as the highest-paid athlete in the world, with annual earnings of $126.9 million. A large chunk of this came from endorsements and royalty-based deals with brand partners, including Nike, PepsiCo, Walmart, AT&T, and even Crypto.com.

    “The top 100 highest-paid athletes in the world include players from 10 sports and 24 countries. They earned $4.46 billion in total income, including $3.24 billion in salary and prize money, as well as $1.23 billion off the field or court from endorsements, licensing, memorabilia and appearances over the last 12 months,” Sportico stated.

    Interestingly, Team India’s Virat Kohli was the only cricketer to feature in the top 100. He ranked 61st, with earnings of $33.9 million, of which a lion’s share ($31 million) came from endorsements. Based on endorsement earnings alone, Kohli ranks 14th in the world.

    The highest-paid female athlete in 2022 was tennis sensation Naomi Osaka, who was ranked 20th with annual earnings of $53.2 million. Serena Williams, who retired this year, was the second-highest paid female athlete, ranking 52nd with earnings of $35.3 million.

    Tennis legend Roger Federer, who also hung up his boots this year, was the 8th highest-paid athlete, with earnings of $85.7 million. Federer, meanwhile, bagged the second-highest endorsement kitty of the year, trailing only LeBron James.

    The NBA, in fact, dominated Sportico’s 2022 list with over 36 players featuring in the top 100.

    Also read: FIFA World Cup: Saudi Arabia declares public holiday on Wednesday after Argentina win

    Also read: FIFA World Cup: Mexican boxer Canelo threatens Lionel Messi over dressing room celebration video

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  • Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Manchester United with immediate effect

    Cristiano Ronaldo leaves Manchester United with immediate effect

    Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed that Cristiano Ronaldo will leave the club by mutual agreement with immediate effect. This comes after days of speculation following Ronaldo’s explosive interview with British journalist Piers Morgan. 
      
    The club thanked the legend for his immense contribution across two spells at Old Trafford, scoring 145 goals in 346 appearances, and wished him and his family well for the future.

    “Everyone at Manchester United remains focused on continuing the team’s progress under Erik ten Hag and working together to deliver success on the pitch,” the club said.

    Ronaldo’s future with the club was headed towards an end following a public outburst against the side and manager Erik Ten Hag. During his interview, Ronaldo accused the club of ‘betraying’ him and said manager Erik Ten Hag showed him a ‘lack of respect’ by dropping him to the bench. 

    Following this, Manchester United on Friday said it had initiated appropriate steps in response to Cristiano Ronaldo’s recent media interview. “We will not be making further comment until this process reaches its conclusion,” it had said.

    The development comes two days ahead of Portugal’s FIFA World Cup opening game against Ghana in Qatar.

     

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  • Manchester United Show Character To Secure Important Win At Everton

    Manchester United Show Character To Secure Important Win At Everton

    When the final whistle was blown at Goodison Park on Sunday the Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag did not smile or show any sense of satisfaction that his side had just secured an important and hard fought 2-1 win over Everton.

    Instead he had a stern and inscrutable look on his face, bereft of any flicker of happiness, and appeared to be lost in his own thoughts.

    This was a man relieved to have won, but who could not be content with the scrappy and often disjointed performance he had just witnessed.

    At the end of the game United were desperately holding on to their advantage as Everton launched wave after wave of aerial attacks into their penalty area.

    But they managed to repel them all to secure their second win in four days following their 3-2 win over Omonia in the Europa League on Thursday.

    That narrow win in Cyprus came with its own frustrations, but taken together these two wins made a statement and showed United have begun to recover from the 6-3 humiliation they suffered at the hands of their local rivals Manchester City last Sunday.

    The win over Everton had glimmers of quality, but overall it was the character United showed, and the fighting spirit they summoned that will have pleased Ten Hag the most.

    Before the game the Dutchman had asked his players to be smarter and nastier and they showed both of these qualities on an often chaotic night on Merseyside.

    Despite the lack of a smile, there was still a lot to please Ten Hag; Ronaldo scoring his first Premier League goal of the season, and the 700th club goal of his incredible career; Casemiro impressing enough to win the Man of the Match award on his first Premier League start; Antony scoring his third goal in his third Premier League game, and even Anthony Martial looking sharp and providing an assist before he succumbed to an injury in the first half.

    Ten Hag’s evening did not start well when he saw Casemiro bundled off the ball after 5 minutes before it made its way to Alex Iwobi who gave Everton the lead with an impressive long-range goal that David De Gea might have done better to stop.

    United had lost 8 of their last 10 away games in the Premier League, but Ten Hag’s players were determined not to be responsible for another one and began to assert themselves over what was a rather limited Everton side.

    After 15 minutes, Martial smartly played Antony through on goal before the Brazilian finished with confidence past Jordan Pickford.

    The clearly uncomfortable Frenchman was only on the pitch for another 14 minutes before he was substituted and made way for the hungry Ronaldo.

    The Portuguese phenomenon turns 38 in February next year and does not want to waste the final years of his career sitting on the bench.

    Here was his opportunity to prove he deserves to start in Ten Hag’s side, and he took it after 44 minutes by running on to an incisive pass from his former Real Madrid team-mate Casemiro and finishing with a low and powerful shot past Pickford.

    This should have been the platform for United to take control of the game, but they spurned it and let Everton leverage themselves back into contention in the second half.

    The sloppiness that had marred United’s loss at Manchester City seven days earlier reappeared, with the ball being given away far too easily. The worst offender was Diogo Dalot at right-back who endured a horrible ninety minutes.

    In the final ten minutes Everton sensed they could take something from this game and sent on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Salomon Rondon to try to exploit United’s relative lack of height in defence.

    A series of high balls and corners were sent into the United penalty area, and Everton came close to scoring several times, particularly through the physicality and presence of their midfielder Amadou Onana.

    Sensing danger, Ten Hag sent on Raphael Varane with only two minutes of added time remaining, but in this time he still managed to provide some calmness and assurance to the rest of the defence and guide his team-mates to the final whistle.

    “Criticism is normal when you have a defeat, especially in a big game, in a derby,” Ten Hag said after the game. “You have to deal with that and learn lessons. We did that. We had a setback of going 1-0 down but we responded much better by sticking to the gameplan and doing our jobs.”

    Overall Ten Hag will be relieved that his pair of former Real Madrid players Casemiro and Ronaldo look to be finding their form ahead of a very busy October.

    Sam Pilger, Contributor

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