The airport of Madeira, the home island of footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, was renamed this Wednesday in honour of the four-time Ballon d’Or winner and captain of the Portugal team that won the European Championship last summer.
“Seeing this airport named after me is a very special thing. Everyone knows that I am proud of my roots,” the 32-year-old said at a ceremony attended by Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa and Prime Minister Antonio Costa. “I didn’t ask for this, but I’m not a hypocrite and I recognise that it honours me and makes me happy,” added the Real Madrid star striker during a brief speech attended by his family and some 5,000 fans.
Football: Madeira airport renamed after Cristiano Ronaldo PHOTO AFP / FRANCISCO LEONG
Last July, less than two weeks after the Selecçao won Euro 2016, the president of the regional government of the Madeira archipelago, Miguel Albuquerque, announced that the island’s airport, which handled 3.1 million passengers in 2016, would be named after Cristiano Ronaldo. In addition to a commemorative plaque and the airport sign featuring his portrait, the best footballer in the news also unveiled a bust of himself on Wednesday, where he sports a grimacing smile.
Controversy over the bust
Images of the unflattering bust were widely shared on social media by stunned and hilarious Internet users, some of whom considered the work by Madeiran sculptor Emanuel Santos to be “ugly” or “unrecognizable.”
In his hometown of Funchal, the footballer has had a museum in his honour since 2013, as well as a 3.40 m high statue, whose tight shorts had already provoked much mockery when it was unveiled in 2014.
The previous George Best in Belfast
In 2006, Belfast Airport was renamed in honour of Northern Irishman George Best, Ronaldo’s predecessor among the legends who wore the Manchester United No. 7, who died the previous year at the age of 59. The Portuguese played his first match in national colours on Tuesday evening in Madeira, in a friendly lost to Sweden (3-2) despite the opening goal scored by “CR7”. By scoring his 71st international goal, he joined Germany’s Miroslav Klose on the podium of the best European scorers for the national team, still dominated by Hungary’s Ferenc Puskas with 84 goals.
