iPhone | iPad
Android
Huawei
The Indian man at the other end had no idea that he was on the phone with the heir to the British throne
KT APPDOWNLOAD
Battle of the statues: Fans troll Ronaldo yet again after Messi honoured with new sculpture
Netizens were quick to draw comparisons between the Al Nassr football star's infamous Madeira bust and the PSG player's life-size sculpture
There are perhaps few greater honours for a football player to receive than a statue to mark his triumphs on the pitch. The likes of Pele, Diego Maradona, David Beckham, and Cristiano Ronaldo have all been immortalised in this way for their contribution to the game.
On Monday, Argentine hero Lionel Messi was the latest to be honoured with a life-size statue. Messi, holding a replica of the World Cup trophy, looked emotional during the unveiling ceremony at the South American Football Federation headquarters in Luque, Paraguay before the Copa Libertadores draw.
Photo: AFP
At 5ft 7 inch, Messi looked noticeably smaller than the life-like figure in his Argentina kit; both were pictured holding the World Cup trophy. However, Twitterati immediately went into overdrive, reckoning Messi's sculpture easily won the 'battle of the statues' against rival Cristiano Ronaldo.
Photo: Reuters
Football fans were quick to dig out the infamous Ronaldo metal bust which was displayed at Madeira airport in March 2017 — a statue heavily criticised for looking nothing like the Al Nassr star.
Designed by Emanuel Santos, Ronaldo's bronze statue got a resounding negative response and lasted just over a year before it was replaced with a second, more traditional version of the bust Santos created.
Now, fans have declared the Argentine hero winner of the 'statue battle'. Some also pointed out that Messi's statue holds 'more World Cup' than Ronaldo, a dig into the fact that the Portuguese forward doesn't have the prestigious Fifa trophy under his belt.
For his part, Lionel Messi was beyond grateful in light of the honour. "I had never dreamed or thought about this," Messi said. "My dream was to enjoy what I liked when I was little, to be a professional soccer player, to do what I always loved in this life.
"I had a very long road, many decisions and defeats, but I always looked ahead and wanted to go for a triumph, for a victory. I think that is the most important thing, to fight for your dreams, that everything is possible and to enjoy the game, which is the most beautiful thing there is."
The 35-year-old emulated the late Maradona by leading Argentina to their first World Cup triumph in 36 years in Qatar in December.
The Argentine Football Federation renamed the national team's training facility after Messi on Saturday, two days after he scored his 800th career goal in a 2-0 friendly win over Panama.
Messi has scored 99 goals for his country and would become the first Argentina player to net 100 international goals if he scores in Tuesday's friendly against Curacao.
Inputs from Reuters
ALSO READ:
More news from Offbeat
AI artist makes a compilation of images with noteworthy people celebrating the festival
It was the jackpot for a raffle draw held at the company's annual party, which had to be cancelled over the past three years because of the pandemic
Talking in a human-like fashion, the chatbot can respond to your statements and ask you questions relevant to the conversation
Barack Obama, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates were also 'spotted' at Expo City Dubai in the expat's make-believe world powered by art and technology
Air Jordan 13 'Breds' were worn by the star in the second game of the Finals during his final season with the Chicago Bulls
The fruit vendor in Pune claims his family's outlet is the first to sell mangoes on EMI in India
Can you imagine Spider-Man wearing a thobe? Or Iron Man in a red kurta? Iconic characters from the DC Universe, like Superman and 'Habibi Hulk', are part of the series, too