Sculptor defends his Cristiano Ronaldo statue: 'Not even Jesus pleased everyone'

The sculptor who has faced a day’s worth of backlash on social media for his Cristiano Ronaldo statue rolled with the criticism.

“Not even Jesus pleased everyone,” Emanuel Santos told GloboEsporte.com. “This is a matter of tastes. It’s not as simple as it seems.”

The bust was unveiled in the Real Madrid star’s hometown in Portugal as part of a ceremony on Wednesday where the Madeira International Airport was rebranded the Cristiano Ronaldo Airport.

The internet memes followed almost immediately.

Santos, 40, describes himself as a self-taught artist. He actually worked at the airport until January, when he was laid off and offered up the bust project to officials, according to GloboEsporte.com.

Santos said Ronaldo gave the bust his blessing after viewing photos as the project progressed.

“Cristiano saw the photos that his brother sent him,” Santos said (per The Guardian). “I was with the brother at Cristiano’s museum in Madeira and from the messages he sent, I could tell that he liked what he saw. He only asked for some wrinkles that give him a certain expression in his face when he’s about to laugh to be changed. He said it made him look older and asked for it to be thinned out a bit to make it smoother and more jovial. But they gave it the go-ahead. They liked what they saw.”