Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo
Cristiano Ronaldo is a professional soccer player who has set records while playing for both Manchester United
and Real Madrid.
Statues
In March 2017, self-taught sculptor Emanuel Santos unveiled a bronze bust of Cristiano
Ronaldo at the airport in Ronaldo’s hometown of Madeira, Portugal. The statue was ridiculed
for its sinister smile and apparent lack of likeness to its subject, though Santos didn't seem to
understand the uproar. "I asked [Ronaldo] what he thought of the result and he said he liked
it," said Santos. "He only asked for some wrinkles that give him a certain expression to his
face when he laughs 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."
In the wake of the negative publicity, the sports site Bleacher Report commissioned Santos to
fashion another sculpture of Ronaldo. This one, unveiled in March 2018, earned praise for
more closely resembling the soccer great, though its creator continued to defend his original
work. "I liked the result [of the first bust] and was really proud of it," he told Bleacher
Report. "And if I had to do it again, I would make everything exactly the same."