Pictures from Cristiano Ronaldo’s hometown of Madeira have been shared on Twitter that show his statue vandalised by miscreants who were celebrating Lionel Messi’s victory. The Argentine forward had won his fifth Ballon d’Or award on Monday night in Zurich, Switzerland, and had beaten his long-time arch-rival with 41.33% of the votes.
Ronaldo had only received 27.76% of the votes while third-placed Neymar barely got 7.86% of the votes. While Ronaldo was gracious in defeat and was one of the first to congratulate Messi on the win, this latest insult will surely make his blood boil.
After the win, some fans of the Barcelona hitman took it upon themselves to send a message to Ronaldo and his fans and used the bronze statue to get their point across. They used red paint to write ‘Messi’ on the back of the statue and also wrote the number 10 below it.
The statue has since been cleaned up after the authorities were told about the unwanted graffiti. The statue was designed by Ricardo Madeira Veloso and is over 10 feet tall. It was made to commemorate his achievements with Manchester United and Real Madrid, especially his Ballon d’Or wins.
Ronaldo’s sister outraged at act of vandalism
Reportedly, Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro was unhappy with the act of vandalism and hit out at those responsible in a Facebook post.
“I find the act in itself a dishonour but what I find more shameful is the envy that surrounds him and the rage that some unloved and frustrated fatheads display in public in a disgraceful way which leaves me as a Portuguese person ashamed and sad.”
“The people that are responsible for this and other negative things directed towards this person should know that our island was recently voted the world’s leading island destination not just for the beautiful sea that surrounds us or for our marvellous gastronomy or even the warm Madeiran welcome.
“It was in part thanks to this great Madeiran figure that honours his origins.”
Ronaldo was present at the inauguration of the statue in 2014 and had tweeted at the time: “I feel so proud to be honoured with a statue in Madeira. It's a huge joy to share this moment with my family and the people from Madeira. Thank you all for the warm reception.”
