George Best, latest player to be commemorated with 'dubious' statue
The statue of the "Belfast Boy" was unveiled in what would have been Best's 73rd birthday in Northern Ireland.
Cristiano Ronaldo's infamous Madeira stature created by Portuguese sculptor Emanuel Santos sent shock-waves around the world with his dubious bust of the current Juventus striker. Santos, who at the time claimed that the likeness to CR7 was "just a matter of taste" unwittingly has set a trend in the world of football for below par likenesses of some of the greats of the game with recent examples being the Diego Maradona statue in India or Radamel Falco's tribute in his native Colombia. The latest football great to come in for the "that looks nothing like him" statute is Northern Ireland and Manchester United legend George Best.
May 22, 2019 would have been Best's 73rd birthday and to commemorate the date, a tribute statue was erected of the player outside the home of Northern Irish football at Windsor Park.
The statue was funded by public donations and supervised by Best's sister Barbara McNarry, with reaction to the replica soon coming in for criticism via social media and giving the Cristiano Ronaldo bust a run for it's money in the "very little resemblance to the real person" stakes.