Four times FIFA World Player of the Year winner and Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronlado has airport named after him at his home town in Madeira, Portugal.
The Madeira International Airport has been change to that one of their biggest export from the town – Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport, but the achievement of Ronaldo as a deserving Icon for that status did not get everybody talking on internet rather a statue of the footballer that was created for the Renaming ceremony was the hot topic of discussion.
A 40 years old Sculptor goes by the name Emanuel Santos from Madeira, Ronaldo’s hometown was mocked on the internet after his sculptured work of Ronaldo was chosen as the official statue for the airport renaming.
Many people who criticized the statue believe it was wrongly done with some claiming the sculptor had drunk too much Madeiran wine before starting his work of art and others joking it made Cristiano look like something out of a horror film – creating memes to even buttress their point.
Santos, revealed that it took him just 15 days to make the art work and he felt satisfied after Ronaldo told him he liked the statue.
Speaking to Brazilian media outlet Globo, he said:
“It is impossible to please the Greeks and Trojans. Even Jesus did not please everyone. This is a matter of taste, it’s not as simple as it seems. I have seen works by great artists that follow this parameter. What matters is the impact that this work generates. There is always the possibility of making a difference, I was prepared for all this.
“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.”
The sculptor also insisted Ronaldo’s mum Dolores and Cristiano’s brother Hugo like the statue and said the statute could go ahead after being shown the work before it was unveiled.
“Cristiano saw the photos that his brother sent him. I was with the brother at Cristiano’s museum in Madeira and from the messages he sent, I could tell that he liked what he saw.
“He only asked for some wrinkles that give him a certain expression in his face when he’s about to laugh to be changed. He said it made him look older and asked for it to be thinned out a bit to make it smoother and more jovial. But they gave it the go-ahead before they liked what they saw.”
He added:
“When I arrived at the airport the bust had already been unveiled for the start of the ceremony. 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.”
Ronaldo was unveiled as the new face and name of the airport for bringing popularity to Madeira island in Portugal with his success in the sporting world.
Some twitter users didn’t waste time to mock the sculpture, see their reactions below.
