How Cristiano Ronaldo First Reacted To His Infamously Awful Statue
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Cristiano Ronaldo was once presented with a bust of himself at Madeira airport - but he clearly wasn't too delighted with the end result.
Four years ago, in March 2017 when the five-time Ballon d'Or winner was still playing for Real Madrid, he was honoured with a bust at the renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, Madeira.
The moment became famous because the statue really didn't look much like Ronaldo at all, and was widely mocked. While the bust itself is famous, Ronaldo's initial reaction is less well known but it's equally as priceless, as he goes from laughing to clearly not too impressed.
Sculptor Emanuel Santos hit back at the criticism at the time, saying, "Even Jesus didn't please everyone. It's impossible to please both the Greeks and the Trojans.
"It's a matter of taste, it's not as simple as it sounds."
He added: "Cristiano was one of the last people to arrive but I spoke with him in the VIP room. I asked him what he thought of the result and he said he liked it."
Santos might well have been happy with his work, clearly his defence of it suggests that is the case, but the sculptor was still challenged a year after his initial attempt to try again. (His original bronze bust was also replaced in 2018 by the work of another artist.)
If Santos is right and it's all a matter of taste then we definitely prefer the original, even if the new one looks more like the current Juventus player.
Ronaldo isn't the only player with an odd looking statue in his honour with Michael Essien, Mo Salah and Luis Suarez also among those with interesting-looking depictions of themselves in their home countries.
Oh well. It's the thought that counts.
Topics: Portugal, Cristiano Ronaldo
