What Happened To The Infamous Cristiano Ronaldo Statue?
Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the greatest footballers to ever live and the Real Madrid icon is among the most famous personalities in the world.
Like many legendary footballers, Ronaldo was immortalized when he received a statue dedicated to him. Back in 2017, the Madeira international airport was named after the Portugal captain, with a statue of him was erected at the entrance of the airport.
The statue, however, was subject to a lot of criticism. The consensus was that the work didn't look very much like the ex-Real Madrid superstar.
The sculpture, created by sculptor Emanuel Santos, was prepared for the backlash, commenting that not everyone will be please.
Addressing the matter, Santos told Globo Sports:
Even Jesus did not please everyone. This is a matter of taste, it’s not as simple as it seems. I used photos of Cristiano Ronaldo that I searched on the internet as a base. I put the photos next to me and started working on the bust. What matters is the impact that this work generates. There is always the possibility of making a difference, I was prepared for all this.
- Emanuel Santos
A year ago today, Emanuel Santos’ Cristiano Ronaldo bust was unveiled. The world laughed at him.
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2018
We challenged him to try again. He accepted. pic.twitter.com/TLV1iJv1MN
A year later, in March 2018, Santos created another sculpture of Ronaldo which replaced the original bust.
As for the original statue, it was eventually removed from the Madeira international airport entrance and at the request of the CR7 Museum and Ronaldo's family, it was replaced by a new one created by an anonymous artist.
The airport's director, Duarte Ferreira said (via Diario de Noticias Madeira):
The museum asked us to replace it and place this bust instead, in homage to the athlete, and we thought we should do it. We have the other one stored.
- Duarte Ferreira
The plaque paying triple to Cristiano Ronaldo and his copper statue outside the new Cristiano Ronaldo Airport in Madeira. pic.twitter.com/zGxUh6XCYW
— TheCristianoFan 🇵🇹 (@TheCristianoFan) March 29, 2017
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