The bronze bust of Cristiano Ronaldo, on display at Madeira Airport, which bears his name, although not so similar as it is unattractive, was secretly replaced last Friday at the request of those around him, the local press reported on Monday, June 18.
Discussed at the end of March 2017: The bust bearing Ronaldo's image, which was displayed at Madeira Airport and renamed after the Portuguese player, was secretly replaced on Monday. This did not displease some, who judged the work created by Madeiran sculptor Emanuel Santos to be “horrible” and “unrecognizable.”
“This bust is much better than the other, that's what everyone thinks,” Hugo Aveiro, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's brother, told regional daily Diario de Noticias da Madeira. “A Spanish sculptor offered this new bust (…) so much that we decided to make the exchange,” he said.
The failed Ronaldo statue at Madeira Airport has been maliciously replaced
The first bust was unveiled in March 2017 during a ceremony organized to rename Madeira Airport in honor of the native of Funchal, the capital of this Portuguese archipelago located off the coast of Morocco.
The statue bearing his likeness, in which the player wore a grim smile, caused an uproar among netizens who were sometimes skeptical, sometimes mocking.
The work of self-taught Madeiran sculptor Emanuel Santos was surreptitiously replaced overnight from Thursday to Friday by officials from the CR7 Museum, which is run by the family of the Portugal captain and Real Madrid striker. a star.
“The CR7 Museum asked us to replace this statue in honor of the athlete and we felt we had to replace it,” Madeira Airport Director Duarte Ferreira confirmed to local media.
Cristiano Ronaldo has a museum in his honor in Funchal that opened in 2013, as well as a 3.40-metre-high statue, whose tight trousers sparked a number of jokes during its opening the following year.
The 33-year-old Portuguese is currently playing in the 2018 World Cup finals in Russia, where he made his impressive debut on Friday by scoring a hat-trick in the draw against Spain (3-3).
