Cristiano Ronaldo has had his statue in his hometown defaced by vandals who painted Lionel Messi’s name and number on the back.
The urchins responsible smeared the infamously ‘anatomically generous’ statue in Fuchal on the Portuguese island of Madeira in red paint on Tuesday evening, the day after Messi pipped Ronaldo to the Ballon d’Or.
‘Messi 10’ daubed on Cristiano Ronaldo statue in his native Madeira https://t.co/qrF6NPjigj pic.twitter.com/Ol4mTURlYz
— AS English (@English_AS) January 12, 2016
According to Portuguese news reports, while the statue has since been cleaned, officials are still looking for the vandals responsible. While the man himself is yet to comment, Ronaldo’s sister, Katia Aveiro, went ape on Twitter, decrying those responsible as “frustrated savages” in a lengthy personal statement.
Eu estou com raiva, triste, decepcionada e sem palavras para tão pouca maturidade.É desrespeitoso para os turistas. pic.twitter.com/vqTyup76FV — Katia Aveiro (@KatiaAveiro) January 12, 2016
Allow us to translate:
I am angry, sad, disappointed and speechless at this so disrespectful lack of maturity. It is disrespectful for the tourists.
We all know how proud I am of this person (Ronaldo) – I could spend hours talking about his acts of goodness and qualities. As a Portuguese I am left sad and ashamed.
Thanks to him there has been tourism, jobs created and investment on our lovely island which unfortunately is inhabited by some frustrated savages who deserve to live in Syria.
People who have no respect and do not know how to live in society.
Strong stuff.
(Via ESPN FC)