David Sneyd

BETWEEN THE TIME it took John O’Shea to walk a couple of minutes from the Republic of Ireland training pitch to the FAI press conference room, the mind wandered to an extract from Frank Lampard’s 2006 autobiography Totally Frank.

A headline on a brilliantly acerbic review from the Guardian’s brilliantly acerbic Marina Hyde was a promising start to some swift research.

“Deluded Frank joins football’s book worms,” it read, below which was a brutal skewering of a glorious lack of self-awareness.

“Consider Lampard’s reflections after a fortnight spent on Roman Abramovich’s yacht. ‘I suppose people imagine that as a Premiership footballer, my life is quite special,’ he hazards. ‘I would agree, but those two weeks opened my eyes to another world.’ Ah, a millionaire yearning to be a billionaire … is there anything more charmless?” Hyde wrote.

This was August 2006, and England had not long returned from another self-inflicted World Cup travesty. Wayne Rooney was sent off for appearing to stamp on the goolies of Ricardo Carvalho, but only after Rooney’s then 21-year-old Manchester United teammate Cristiano Ronaldo came sprinting onto the scene demanding justice for his stricken compatriot.

A quick wink was caught on camera once the red card was shown, followed by him scoring the decisive penalty in the quarter-final shootout. The Portuguese youngster became public enemy No.1 on his return to England, everywhere outside of Old Trafford.

Lampard, for the record, missed England’s first penalty.

Almost two decades on and as O’Shea strolled over to chat this all flashed back into the consciousness because of a Bloomberg report that emerged declaring Ronaldo, now 40 and preparing to lead the line against Ireland in Saturday’s World Cup qualifier in Lisbon, as football’s first billionaire player.

His net worth is now estimated to be close to €1.10 billion. As well as a €15m Nike endorsement and an annual salary with Al-Nassr in the region of €180m that keeps him in the Saudi Pro League until at least 2027, the Bloomberg Billionaires Index cites other metrics such as career earnings, investments and endorsements.

Promotion for one such handy nixer actually dropped into the email inbox of The 42 just after O’Shea had finished his media duties.

Usually they are easy to ignore but, for the day that’s in it, this piqued interest. “If you see me without hair, I will not be the same person,” was the enticing headline for a company Ronaldo co-founded, the focus on “self-confidence, aesthetics and hair care.”

“It’s not by coincidence that it’s lucky,” Ronaldo said in the press release. “Luck comes with hard work. I believe in that. The future is brilliant.”

No doubt he is looking forward to Saturday night in Lisbon for Portugal’s first home qualifier after back-to-back away wins over Armenia and Hungary, and returning to Sporting Club’s Estádio José Alvalade.

It was there, legend has it, his performance in a 2003 friendly against United, and O’Shea in particular, to open the redeveloped stadium led to his transfer to Old Trafford being finalised before Alex Ferguson left Portugal.

“You should actually watch it back again. A lot of exaggerations. You know these podcasts these days. A lot of exaggerations,” O’Shea joked.

There is none with Ronaldo’s incredible longevity and record. His current goal tally at international level stands at 141 in 223 appearances, well out in front when it comes to the men’s standings.

Lionel Messi is second on 114 and Ronaldo first came close to that amount when he broke the international record to reach 111 against Ireland with a late brace in Faro to beat Stephen Kenny’s side back in September 2021.

In the four years since, Ronaldo has scored 30 more times for his country while Ireland have done so 51 times in total. His three goals so far – two against Armenia and one versus Hungary – mean he’s joint top scorer in Group F with Barnabás Varga.

Ronaldo turns 41 in February and is just four years the junior of O’Shea. An occasion like this one always insists for a question to tee up a celebratory response of his most famous former colleague.

“He’s done okay. He’s done okay, the lad,” O’Shea said in that half-joking, half-arsed kind of way you would expect given Ireland’s current predicament after losing to Armenia last month.

All of which begs the question for football’s first billionaire footballer: is this match against Ireland like searching down the back of the couch for a couple of more goals?

“If you’re going out there beforehand not believing [in yourself], what’s the point? What’s the point in showing up here? What’s the point in facing that scrutiny and intensity if you’re not going to believe you’re going to get out and win a game of football,” O’Shea said of the Ireland players.

“You’re coming here representing so many people that are so proud of you. I think that’s what you have to have in the background as well. That’s what all the players that play for Ireland have.”

Ireland must hope that’s worth something come Saturday night.