New Cristiano Ronaldo statue leaves fans in splits amid growing influence over NFL

Cristiano Ronaldo is one of the most famous and most recognized athletes, if not individuals, on the whole planet. Almost everyone in the world has heard his name, and probably half of them are fans of the Portuguese legend, who has won almost everything to win in the game.

Ronaldo’s influence goes far and wide into other sports as well, and many athletes across the globe follow him and celebrate like him. Meanwhile, he is also huge in Saudi Arabia since moving to Al Nassr, where he has garnered much support and love. And the country has now done something for him in return.

Latest Cristiano Ronaldo statue divides fan opinion

As part of the Riyadh Season festival, a museum dedicated to Cristiano Ronaldo and his career was built. Named the “CR7 Signature Museum,” there are many memorabilia of him in the building. Many of his trophies and individual awards, along with his shirts, are on display. The state-of-the art museum also shows many of his iconic moments to the public.

A unique feature of the museum was a wax statue of the star. The striker himself visited the museum, even posed with the statue, and afterwards interacted with a lot of the facilities. Ronaldo shared the moments of his visit on his Instagram and wrote the caption, “This is My Story. From Madeira to Saudi Arabia, my CR7 Signature Museum is now open in Riyadh.”

However, the statue has divided fans, with it being described as not anything like the Portuguese captain. Many have pointed out that it looks very different to Cristiano’s real appearance at any point in his life. In fact, the hair color is brownish compared to the naturally black hair of the five time Ballon d’Or winner.

One Twitter user jokingly compared the statue to Manchester City midfielder Kevin De Bruyne.

Many others also criticized the inaccurate depiction of Ronaldo in the statue. However, the player himself did not seem to have a problem, happily smiling and posing with it.

NFL WR hits Ronaldo celebration

Cristiano Ronaldo only keeps on growing in fame and name, with many people and athletes following him. He is one of the greatest athletes in soccer, and aside from all the success and achievements he has won, he has also set a very high standard for players around the world to follow. Fans simply love the hard work and determination he puts into the sport every day.

Recently, he has also featured in the NFL, with his celebration being used. Zay Flowers who plays as a wide receiver for Baltimore Ravens, recently scored a touchdown during their 20-10 win against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday.

After the touchdown, he decided to celebrate in a unique manner. One of his teammates acted like a soccer goalkeeper, while Flowers acted like he was taking a penalty. They then enacted that Flowers scored a penalty goal before Zay brought out the iconic ‘Siuu’ celebration that is synonymous with Cristiano Ronaldo.

Cristiano Ronaldo may be happy to see all these dedications to him, but he has a job to do when Al-Nassr face rivals Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro League on Saturday.