‘Even Jesus Couldn’t Please Everyone’ – Portuguese Sculptor Responsible For Cristiano Ronaldo Bust Defends His Wonky Handiwork

Chris Wright

30th, March 2017

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While it may have attracted derision from nigh-on everybody who has laid their eyes upon it, the artist responsible for the wonky bronze bust of Cristiano Ronaldo unveiled outside Madeira airport yesterday has defended his work.

As soon as the cover came off, the statue was being instantly mocked the world over as disbelieving onlookers wryly questioned why Madeira were paying tribute to Niall Quinn/Raoul Moat/John-Arne Riise/Brock Lesnar/the door knockers from Labyrinth, etc, etc.

However the sculptor responsible, local fellow Emanuel Santos, is really rather proud of his creation, even insisting that the bust was personally okayed by the Ronaldo family during the production process.

Speaking to Globo, Santos, who is from Madeira and actually proposed the bust himself after first hearing about the plans to rename the airport in Ronaldo’s honour, said:

It is impossible to please both the Greeks and Trojans. Even Jesus did not please everyone. This is a matter of taste, it’s not as simple as it seems. I have seen works by great artists that follow this parameter.

What matters is the impact that this work generates. There is always the possibility of making a difference, I was prepared for all this.

The 40-year-old also admitted that he was forced to work from photos of Ronaldo, as the man himself was “too busy” to model in person.

I used photos that I searched on the internet as a base. I put the photos next to me and started working on the bust.

Santos, who confesses to being self-taught, claims that both Ronaldo’s mother and brother were consulted during the 15-day project and both were more than happy with the results.

Cristiano saw the photos that his brother sent him. I was with the brother at Cristiano’s museum in Madeira and from the messages he sent, I could tell that he liked what he saw.

Speaking about the grand unveiling, the artist revealed that came face to face with Ronaldo, though the Real Madrid man was unable to express his full gratitude due to time constraints:

He [Ronaldo] greeted me. Honestly, it was very fast because he had to travel soon. So we could not talk.

Feel free to draw your own conclusions as to why Ronaldo was bloody desperate to get out of there.