Bizarre Ronaldo statue overshadows airport naming event

A new statue of Cristiano Ronaldo has been getting plenty of attention as people say it doesn't look like the famous football player. Fans have been questioning and talking about the resemblance of the statue that was unveiled on the Portuguese island of Madeira. People on social media are saying the work looks more like former Republic of Ireland captain Niall Quinn than it does of Ronaldo. The statue of the player was revealed at a ceremony to name the island's airport after him. Portugal's president and the prime minister both flew to the island to unveil the tribute to the football player outside the terminal entrance.

Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro was born on February 5th, 1985. Ronaldo is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays for Spanish club Real Madrid and the Portugal national team. Ronaldo primarily plays as a forward, but has also been used as a winger and serves as captain of the Portugal team. In 2008, the player won his first Ballon d'Or and FIFA World Player of the Year awards. President Rebelo de Sousa has said of Ronaldo that he projects Madeira and Portugal across the world far more than anybody else. The 32-year-old football player is a local hero in Madeira, where he is seen as a rags-to-riches success story. Ronaldo also has a museum about him in his hometown of Funchal. Ronaldo is often ranked as the best football player in the world and widely regarded as one of the greatest of all time. Ronaldo was also named as the best Portuguese player of all time by the Portuguese Football Federation, during the 100th-anniversary celebrations held in 2015. Ronaldo is the only player to win four European Golden Shoe awards. Considered as one of the most marketable athletes in the sport, in 2016 Forbes named the player the world's best-paid athlete. In June of 2016, ESPN ranked the player the world's most famous athlete.

Emanuel Santos is the sculptor of the much talked about the bust of Cristiano Ronaldo at the Madeira Airport. The artist defended his work, as he believes the football player is a fan of the statue. The player did ask for some wrinkles to be softened up a bit, which gave him a certain expression and look on his face when he's about to laugh. The player said that it made him look older and asked for them to be thinned out a bit to make his face smoother and more jovial. But after that was done they gave the go-ahead for the statue to be completed. The artist said that Ronaldo like the statue. The artist said he had to base his work off photographs of the football player as the player was unable to model for him in person, and the sculptor added that the result of the statue is never going to please everyone. The statue was unveiled on Wednesday to commemorate the airport being renamed in the football player's honor. Since then the statue has been widely mocked on social media. The football player said on Twitter that he was happy and honored to have his name given to the Madeira airport. The athlete is not the only football player to have an airport named after him. Belfast airport was named after former Manchester United player George Best in 2006, a year after the player died.

This is just one of the trending news stories you will find on the BBC site. Other trending news you will find include world, business trending news, celebrity rumors, new science news, earth news and so much more. **