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#3 Michael Essien
We now look at this “tribute” given to Ghana legend Michael Essien. The monstrosity was spotted in Kumasi, Ghana, in 2018, when it soon went viral. However, locals claim that the statue was made a few years before that. The artist of this creation remains anonymous, which is probably for his own well-being considering the world’s reaction.
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The Ghanian international has won two Premier League titles, three FA Cups and one Champions League with Chelsea. He was also an integral part of the Ghana squad that qualified for the country’s first-ever World Cup in 2006.
Essien’s achievements at both club and country certainly merit a statue to his name. However, the statue looks like something out of a 90’s computer game. It depicts Essien in a bizarre and contorted pose. This, combined with robotic features and asymmetrical proportions, makes it a sight to forget.
#2 Mohamed Salah
A statue of Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah was unveiled in 2018 in the Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh. The sculpture of the Liverpool ace was created by Mia Abdel Allah and displayed at the World Youth Forum in Egypt.
The statue portrays Salah with comically unnatural proportions, with a large head and a minuscule torso. The artist based the portrayal on Salah’s traditional goal celebration, with his arms open. Fans have been left speechless when it comes to the bizarre creation. Some have claimed it has made the Egyptian look more like Arthur Garfunkel of the folk-rock duo Simon & Garfunkel.
Salah has rapidly risen to glory with Liverpool and won the Premier League and Champions League with the Reds. The 29-year-old is undoubtedly one of the best players in the world at the moment and deserves all the statues he can get. Thankfully, the more recent model at Madame Tussauds in London does justice to the Egyptian.
#1 Cristiano Ronaldo
A man with immense influence and fan following all over the globe, one would think nobody would dare to mess up a Cristiano Ronaldo effigy. But Emanuel Santos, the artist behind Ronaldo’s bust has done exactly that.
The artwork was unveiled in March of 2017 at Madeira’s airport. The creation was part of a ceremony organized to rename the airport to Cristiano Ronaldo International Airport. The statue took the world by storm and was widely criticized for doing the five-time Ballon d'Or winner no favors.
The bust features the Manchester United star with narrowly spaced eyes and a lopsided grin. The sculptor received a largely negative response and his creation made the news for the wrong reasons.
Santos defended himself, stating that “Even Jesus did not please everyone". However, after being on display for just 15 months, it was replaced. The latest installation was created by an anonymous Spanish artist.
