Madeira, the Portuguese island and birthplace of football legend Cristiano Ronaldo, witnessed a controversial act of vandalism when a young man set fire to a statue of the Al-Nassr FC striker, located near the famous CR7 Museum in Funchal. This incident sparked widespread outrage and debate on social media, given the player's immense popularity in his hometown.
Details of the strange incident
The perpetrator documented his crime in a video he posted himself, showing him pouring a flammable liquid on the bronze replica of the statue before setting it alight with a lighter. Not content with this, the young man continued filming himself performing a dance routine to loud rap music emanating from a speaker he had brought specifically for this purpose, in a scene that clearly defied the law and showed a lack of respect for local symbols.
The young man posted the video on his Instagram Stories, which has around a thousand followers, along with a cryptic and disturbing message: “This is God’s final warning.” He also described himself in his profile as “a person, a freestyler, and a local,” further deepening the mystery surrounding his motives.
A history of controversy surrounding Ronaldo statues
This isn't the first time statues of the "Madeira Rocket" have been vandalized or the subject of controversy. In January 2016, the same statue was deliberately defaced when unknown individuals wrote the name of his long-time rival, Lionel Messi, and his jersey number on its back in red paint, following the Argentine star's Ballon d'Or win that year. That incident prompted authorities to move the statue from its original location in the Praça do Mar district to the entrance of the museum for greater protection.
Recent history also recalls the global controversy that accompanied the unveiling of another bust of Ronaldo at Madeira Airport in 2017, which was widely ridiculed for not matching the player's features, before it was later replaced with a more accurate version.
The symbolism of the place and the security measures
The CR7 Museum in Funchal is one of Madeira's most important tourist attractions, housing the individual and team awards Ronaldo has won throughout his illustrious career with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Juventus, and currently Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, as well as the Portuguese national team. The attack on the statue is an affront to a symbol considered by the island's inhabitants to be a national hero who helped put Madeira on the global tourist map.
Immediately, the local police in Madeira began intensive search and investigation operations to identify and arrest the perpetrator, amid fears that the fire may have caused permanent damage to the bronze metal from which the statue was made, pending an expert report to assess the material losses.
