Last March, the unveiling of Cristiano Ronaldo's bust at the Madeira airport went viral. Unfortunately for the sculptor of the piece, Emanuel Santos, it happened for all the wrong reasons, as the internet mercilessly mocked the statue for its lack of likeness to the football superstar. After the massive public ridicule, the sculptor, unsurprisingly, felt defeated. "This is hard to talk about," says Emanuel while barely holding back tears, "It was too sudden" he reflects on the experience. However, this year he got challenged by B/R Football to redeem himself and create a new bust.
The original sculpture for the airport was actually Santos' first bust, yet the artist took up the challenge. Having your first attempt at something so brutally shut down can certainly break someone, but Emanuel reassures that it only made him stronger. "I want my son to understand that if he enjoys doing something very much, [he] doesn't let himself be defeated with negative criticism. Sooner or later, if we believe in ourselves and are persistent, we can succeed in life" the sculptor remarks. With this mindset, Santos set out to create another sculpture in hopes to redeem himself. Check out the result below and tell us if you think he succeeded!
Last March, this Cristiano Ronaldo's sculpture went viral
The internet mocked it for having little resemblance to the football superstar
And it's no surprise that it quickly became a meme
The sculptor of the piece, Emanuel Santos, felt defeated after facing such harsh criticism...
As Ronaldo's sculpture was his first attempt at creating a bust
However, this year, the artist decided to redeem himself and recreate the infamous sculpture
And here's the result of his second attempt
Watch the video about Santos' journey
People on the internet were quick to support Emanuel Santos
Do you think he did a great job? Tell us in the comments below!
