Never ending rivalry “Cristiano Ronaldo statue vandalised with Lionel Messi graffiti”
The 11-foot effigy was tagged with a number 10
An 11-foot Cristiano Ronaldo statue on the Real Madrid player’s home island of Madeira was defaced with the name of Lionel Messi on Tuesday night.Graffiti appeared on the bronze effigy the night after Messi beat Ronaldo to the Fifa Ballon d’Or award.
Red paint was used on the back of the statue to write the name Messi as well as a number 10, the shirt number worn by the Barcelona forward.
The graffiti was quickly removed by officials after they were alerted to the vandalism.”It’s a shameful act committed out of jealousy towards him,” Ronaldo’s sister Katia Aveiro has been quoted as saying.”The rage that some unloved and frustrated fatheads display in public in a disgraceful way which leaves me as a Portuguese person ashamed and sad.”
The statue of Ronaldo was unveiled by the player himself in December 2014 on the seafront in Funchal, the capital of Madeira. It stands just a few hundred metres from a museum dedicated to the former Manchester United player.
Messi won the Ballon d’Or award, recognising the best player in the world, for a fifth time on Monday night. It ended a run of two victories for Ronaldo, who has won three in total.
