George Best sculpture joins list of dodgy statues of sports stars
A tribute to the former Chelsea player has drawn comparisons to the Ronaldo bust in Madrid - joining a long list of dodgy statues.
Thursday 23 May 2019 17:53, UK
A tribute to footballing legend George Best has attracted criticism - but it isn't the first.
The statue of former Manchester United legend George Best was unveiled in his home town of Belfast and social media users were quick to ridicule the piece.
It drew comparisons to a bust of Christiano Ronaldo which was created for the renaming of an airport in Madeira, but inadvertently stole the show because it didn't quite do its subject justice.
More recently, a statue of Michael Essien has caused a stir on social media, with the former Chelsea footballer joining a long list of players immortalised in busts that look nothing like them.
Sports journalist Saddick Adams spotted the statue, which appears to have been installed a few years ago in Kumasi, Ghana, and shared a picture on Twitter.
The artist is currently unknown, but the creative behind it might want to stay anonymous after the reaction, as one person dubbed it "absolutely atrocious".
Another suggested jail time was deserved for the piece, while it was ridiculed as "horrible" and "cruel" by others.
Mr Adams defended the piece though, calling it "beautiful" and saying it indicated Ghana remembered its star.
He added: "The happiness doesn't come from the beauty of the sculpture. It comes from the intent and ambition."
Diego Maradona also had a strange likeness created, which he helped unveil in Kolkata.
And Southampton legend Ted Bates suffered the same fate, though his dodgy statue was replaced outside St Mary's Stadium, to something in proportion for starters.
Fellow sportsman Andy Murray was forced to stand by a squat looking version of himself, in the style of a terracotta warrior, as a statue was unveiled in Shanghai, China.
