From Goa to Dubai: statues and sculptures of Cristiano Ronaldo - in pictures

A number of life-size figures of the Portuguese star have been installed across the globe

This photograph taken on December 30, 2021 shows a newly installed statue of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo in Calangute after the statue has caused a stir, this time in Goa, the southern Indian state that was a Portuguese colony until 60 years ago. (Photo by AFP)

A statue of Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled this week in the town of Calangute in Goa. Reuters

Chocolatier Jorge Cardoso created a life-size chocolate statue of Cristiano Ronaldo in Portugal in 2020.

Cristiano Ronaldo, right, poses beside a wax statue of himself during the inauguration of the CR7 museum in Madeire, Portugal, on December 15, 2013. AFP

A bronze bust of Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled at the Madeira airport in 2017, which caused a lot of controversy. Reuters

Cristiano Ronaldo stands next to a bust of himself during the renaming ceremony of the Madeira's international airport in 2017. AFP

A new bust representing Cristiano Ronaldo at the renamed Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport in Funchal. EPA

Visitors walk past the wax figures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Dubai on October 18, 2021. EPA

A waxwork of Cristiano Ronaldo at the newly opened Madame Tussauds in Dubai. AFP

A wax figure of Cristiano Ronaldo at Madame Tussauds in Dubai. AFP

Portugal and Manchester United superstar Cristiano Ronaldo is admired the world over. And the adulation routinely takes the shape of statues and sculptures that celebrate his sustained brilliance.

In the latest such instance, a statue of Ronaldo was unveiled this week in the town of Calangute in Goa, the south-western Indian state where football is among the most popular sports.

However, the unveiling caused some controversy as Goa is a former Portuguese colony and the installation coincided with the 60th anniversary of the state's liberation.

This is the second such controversy surrounding Ronaldo and his statue. In 2017, a bust of the star was revealed at Portugal's Madeira airport. It attracted immediate ridicule, with many stating the bust did not resemble Ronaldo in any way. Ultimately, the controversial bronze bust was replaced at the request of Ronaldo's team and family.

Not just that, in 2000 chocolatier Jorge Cardoso, created a life-size chocolate statue of the great in Portugal.

Elsewhere, London's famous waxwork museum Madame Tussauds opened its first outpost in the Gulf region in Dubai last October. The Dubai branch has 60 sculptures of global stars, including Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, India cricket great Virat Kohli, seven-time F1 world champion Lewis Hamilton and UFC star Conor McGregor.