Cristiano Ronaldo said he was “happy and honored” to have his name given to Madeira Airport in Portugal this week as a very odd-looking statue of the footballer was unveiled to commemorate the big change.
Naturally, the internet has since been bombarded with hilarious gifs and memes with suggestions of who the bust actually looks like, with the Art Attack head and Irish striker Niall Quinn among many.
However, the post that’s had us rolling about is one from Rangers legend Peter Løvenkrands.
Happy and honored to have my name given to the Madeira airport! pic.twitter.com/6SxibYtxje
— Cristiano Ronaldo (@Cristiano) March 29, 2017
The former striker took to Twitter to reveal how he is honoured to have gotten his own statue at the airport having been told it bears a striking resemblance to him.
Much to his fans’ delight, the Dane tweeted: “Can’t believe I got my own statue at the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport #VeryHonoured.”
Can't believe I got my own statue at the Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport #VeryHonoured https://t.co/KewOP2pDVb
— Peter Lovenkrands (@lovenkrands11) March 29, 2017
Within hours, his tweet gained over 8,000 likes and close to 3,500 retweets and social media users lol’d themselves to within an inch of their lives.
“Absolute king. Big up Peter Lovenbantz,” said one fan. We couldn’t agree more.
Here are some other posts taking the mick out the statue that had us in tears.
I honestly cannot get over how much Ronaldo's statue looks like Niall Quinn pic.twitter.com/C84G7CAWIi
— Sway (@Swayam_93) March 29, 2017
Knew I'd seen that Ronaldo statue before...#artattack pic.twitter.com/3cQ3Oko6rt
— Jamie Lyall (@JLyall93) March 29, 2017
I've done some digging but have managed to find a pic of the sculptor who did the Ronaldo statue. Here she is with an earlier client..... pic.twitter.com/mbQ82jW5Ko
— Sidney Abbott (@sidneyabbot) March 30, 2017
I don't know what you're talking about guys, I think the Ronaldo statue looks pretty good pic.twitter.com/JIUwQBuqUY
— keewa (@keewa) March 29, 2017
When you realise they erected a statue of Rory Kockott at Madeira Airport. pic.twitter.com/jvgGGFWULK
— LM (@Runningflyhalf) March 30, 2017
Cristiano Ronaldo will have nightmares about his statue #MadeiraAirport #Bust
— Muneeb Farrukh (@Muneeb313_) March 29, 2017
via @br_uk pic.twitter.com/JpR5DWedm0
Great to see big Streaky getting the recognition he deserves at Madeira Airport pic.twitter.com/87bHCZX6S8
— Evan Rattray (@Evratt27) March 30, 2017
The sculptor behind the controversial work-of-art has since defended his work, insisting the Real Madrid forward is happy with the final product.
Emanuel Santos said: “This is a matter of taste, so it is not as simple as it seems.
“What matters is the impact that this work generated. There is always the possibility of making a difference, I was prepared for all this.”
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