Goa, with its dreamy beaches on the west coast of India, now has a new statue. That of Cristiano Ronaldo. The Portuguese football megastar is pictured in brass in a park in Calangute. Ronaldo is one of the best players in football history, but why such a decision? Michael Lobo, a leader of the region, explains that the statue was erected to “inspire young people” to play football and bring this sport “to another level”.
On Tuesday, a statue of Portugal and Manchester United forward Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled in India’s western state of Goa. The golden figure showing Ronaldo kicking a ball is designed to inspire youth and take soccer to the next level in the state. pic.twitter.com/xuHvnUn1tA
– CBS News (@CBSNews) December 29, 2021
In India, the king sport is cricket, but officials in the State of Goa would like more young people to get involved in football. Michael Lobo sums it up: “Despite India’s large population, the national football team is not even capable of beating small nations”. It hurts. To arouse new vocations, Goa is ideal. In this former Portuguese colony, many inhabitants have lived in Portugal or have family there, which makes football already popular in this corner of India. The young people follow the English Premier League and in particular the Manchester United matches, where Cristiano Ronaldo plays.
Footballer Cristiano Ronaldo’s statue installed in Panaji, Goa. To inspire youth & take football to next level in the state, country, we came up with this statue. We want our children to become like this legendary footballer, who is a global legend: Goa Minister Michael Lobo (28.12) pic.twitter.com/KthPHc7ox0
– ANI (@ANI) December 29, 2021
At the statue’s unveiling this week, some locals carried a black flag in protest. It’s a “insult”, a “sacrilege”, believes the extreme right, these are “local players” which should have been honored.
What is difficult to pass is the date on which this statue was erected: Goa celebrates its 60 years of independence in 2021. India, which belonged to the British Empire, admittedly gained independence in 1947, but at that time, the state of Goa belonged to Portugal. It was not attached to India until 14 years later, in 1961.
This is not the first time that a statue of Ronaldo has generated reactions. In 2017, a bust of the Portuguese champion was installed at the airport of his native island, Madeira. A bronze statue obviously not to his liking because the following year, Ronaldo’s entourage had the work changed on the sly. It must be said that she was neither resembling nor flattering.
Cristiano Ronaldo has his bust at Madeira airport, and Internet users are laughing at https://t.co/GNQc3VuecA pic.twitter.com/IiXgeFuGy4
– franceinfo plus (@franceinfoplus) March 29, 2017