Real Madrid and Portugal striker Cristiano Ronado was honoured in an unusual way by his hometown of Madeira, by renaming the island’s airport as the ‘Cristiano Ronaldo Madeira International Airport’.
The striker said he was ‘happy and honoured’ to have given his name to the airport. “To see this airport bear my name is a very special thing,” said Ronaldo, “Everyone knows I am proud of my roots.” “I didn’t ask for this but I’m not a hypocrite and I acknowledge that it honours me, and that makes me happy,” he added.
Ronaldo already has a museum and bronze statue in his honour in his birth town of Funchal.
Additionaly, a bust of the Euro 2016 winner was also unveiled in the presence of the Portuguese Prime Minister, President and thousands of fans. The bronze bust, however, got all the attention, but for the wrong reasons. With a toothy grin and bulging eyes, the statue looked nothing like the player and soon became a source of great amusement and memes on social media.
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