Portuguese Superstar Cristiano Ronaldo statue was seen standing in the city of Goa in India according to reports.
Michael Lobo, a minister in the Goa state government, on Wednesday tweeted that the statue is aimed at promoting football as a sport and to inspire young people to play the game.
He further said: “When people talk football, they talk about Ronaldo, so we have installed this statue here so boys and girls at a very young age to get inspiration, they feel inspired and the love and passion for this game will grow”.
India is said to be among the country in the world to develop less interest in football, as their main sport is cricket, so according to Lobo, the statue of Ronaldo will imbibe passion in the growing youth to take football to another level in the country.
The statues of Christiano Ronaldo had generated controversies and sparked lots of protest in the city of Goa, taking to the historical antecedent of Portuguese colonization of the city, an act which is viewed by the people of Goa as propagating and legalizing the Portuguese subjugation of the Goa city.
Lobo considers the critics as simply an impediment towards the growth of the sport in the area, and that those against the installation of the statue are those that develop hatred for football.
He further asserts that “They don’t consider football as a religion”. Despite the controversy, there’s still yet no statement from the five-times Ballon d’Or over the issues.
