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Cristiano Ronaldo’s Pride Gets Busted

By Pieter Howes
Published on: 21:57 PST, Mar 29, 2017

A brand new bronze bust of the global sports superstar Cristiano Ronaldo’s likeness was revealed during an official ceremony at the renaming of the Madeira Islands airport. Portugal’s President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa was in attendance to reveal that the Aeroporto Cristiano Ronaldo is named in honor of the Real Madrid striker who is a Madeira Islands native.

The new bust of Ronaldo comes in addition to a Madeira hotel, a museum and a statue that are already named after the local hero.

This time, however, the special honor was met with worldwide wisecracks and laughs. The reason for all the jesting is that the bust is a completely bungled interpretation of Ronaldo’s extraordinarily famous face. From alluring Calvin Kline underwear campaigns to a bizarre Japanese advert promoting a device that is supposed to shape your face to resemble Ronaldo’s unmistakably chiseled features, there is certainly no shortage of references on which to base a statuette on.

Cristiano Ronaldo argues during the Champions League semifinal in 2008. [Image by Bernat Armangue/AP Images]

Cristiano Ronaldo fans have already taken to social media to facetiously blame the faux pas on fans of Ronaldo’s most prominent rival, Lionel Messi. The Argentine striker, who currently shares the title of the world’s best soccer player with Ronaldo, was recently issued a four-match ban after using abusive language to deride officials in a 2018 World Cup qualifier in Chile. No doubt angered Messi fans are relishing Ronaldo’s embarrassment.

Having only just celebrated a season salary of £75 million (roughly $93 million), Ronaldo’s infamous ego has surely suffered a crushing blow. Nevertheless, the player remained gracious and grateful at the ceremony.

“You know how proud I am of my roots, my homeland.”

Ronaldo went on to say that he was incredibly honored to have an airport named after him, seeing as many public figures are often only recognized in this way after they have died. President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reiterated that it was appropriate to celebrate Ronaldo’s excellence in this way, considering that he has raised the profile of Portugal more than anyone else.

Ronaldo has become a local hero in Madeira, representing the epitome of a rags-to-riches story. He has been hailed as player of the year four times in his career, as well has achieving a record 138 appearances for his home country. With seventy-one scores under his belt, Ronaldo is also Portugal’s top scorer.

A tourist poses for a picture by a statue of Cristiano Ronaldo. [Image by Armando Franca/AP Images]

Adding to his honors, Uniti Fashion, a South African clothing manufacturer, recently signed Ronaldo as a brand representative to promote the new range of CR7 denim. Ronaldo is well-known for his meticulous grooming and taste for fashion. What makes this denim unique is its particular focus on comfort. Ronaldo enjoys wearing brands such as Balmain and Givenchy but has said that he struggles to find a comfortable fit off the rack. Commenting on the announcement Ronaldo spoke about his approach to life.

“I don’t take myself too seriously, but I take what I do very seriously. So when I had the opportunity to launch my own denim line, I didn’t want it to be like any other line on the market. Inspired by what’s important to me, this collection is for more than just my fans. It’s for anyone who shares my values, who lives a limitless life and loves denim.”

However, it’s not certain how far the launch of his own denim brand will go to soothe his battered ego in the wake of his unfortunate bust. For Ronaldo to regain some semblance of pride, it may serve the player well to track down the offending artist and issue them with a red card.

Here are a few of the hilarious memes and responses to the humiliating artist’s representation of Ronaldo:

[Featured Image by Armando Franca/AP Images]

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