Spare a thought for Emanuel Santos.
Although many of you reading this won’t instantly recognise his name, there was a time last year when he was ridiculed the world over.
Emanuel was the man tasked with sculpting a bust of Cristiano Ronaldo, to be unveiled at the ceremony which saw the airport on the island of Madeira – the birthplace of the Real Madrid star – renamed in his honour.
Explaining the initial pride he felt with his work, the sculptor has opened up to Bleacher Report about how difficult he found the days that followed the unveiling. Fighting back tears as he gives the interview, he concedes that the subject is still “difficult to talk about,” and that as well as himself, members of his family were also affected by the reaction.
Now though, nearly a year on from the unveiling, Emanuel has revealed his second attempt at the bust. Having been challenged to have another go by Bleacher Report, he accepted.
Clearly, the results are much improved.
29.03.2017 vs. 29.03.2018
Emmanuel Santos' shot at redemption. pic.twitter.com/A91RjDJCOF
— B/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2018
After watching the interview, whether you agree the new version is a significant improvement or not doesn’t really seem to matter too much. Instead, it’s more about the fact Emanuel was able to give it another go, despite the reaction his first attempt received and the obvious impact it had on himself and his family. It really is a measure of the man.
