But the 70-foot size is something else. Indians love football more than you\u2019d expect<\/a>, but the national team is a shambles while resources are diverted towards eyesores like this.<\/p>\n This Messi statue in Kolkata, India \ud83d\udd25<\/p>\n pic.twitter.com\/J8gWdIR92r<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) December 12, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n 6. Alan Shearer (Newcastle)<\/p>\n The one thing you\u2019d associate with Shearer the footballer, apart from using his elbows without a licence, was his meat-and-potatoes goal celebration.<\/p>\n So we don\u2019t know why the sculptors went freestyle with Shearer\u2019s right hand. Not like there were 260 Premier League goals to use as inspiration.<\/p>\n 3. Alan Shearer, outside St. James\u2019 Park. That celebration doesn\u2019t look right, does it? pic.twitter.com\/XUOMT5VVJ6<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) June 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n 5. Mohamed Salah (Sharm El-Sheikh)<\/p>\n We congratulate Jimmy Krankie on his eight-and-a-half years at Liverpool, winning every major trophy and becoming one of the best players in the club\u2019s history.<\/p>\n Or maybe the Egyptians contracted this Salah<\/a> statue to a certain Arne Slot, who was conveniently between jobs when his monstrosity was unveiled in 2018?<\/p>\n 6. A Mohamed Salah statue unveiled at the World Youth Forum at Sharm al-Sheikh. No words needed. pic.twitter.com\/PWVu1qhjEv<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 MUNDIAL (@MundialMag) June 7, 2023<\/a><\/p>\n 4. Michael Essien (Kumasi)<\/p>\n Rumours that this statue of Essien was based on a print from a screenshot of Sensible Soccer remain sadly unconfirmed.<\/p>\n This statue of Michael Essien in Ghana makes the Cristiano Ronaldo one look like the work of Leonardo da Vinci. pic.twitter.com\/X9nWvU4p3F<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Coral (@Coral) January 3, 2018<\/a><\/p>\n 3. Ted Bates (Southampton)<\/p>\n Bates served Southampton as a player, manager, director and president which earned him the sobriquet \u201cMr. Southampton\u201d.<\/p>\n Which made the likeness of his 2007 statue to Milan Mandaric, the former chairman of hated rivals Portsmouth, both extremely unfortunate and extremely funny.<\/p>\n A replacement was quickly knocked up and unveiled a year later.<\/p>\n 2. Cristiano Ronaldo (Aeroporto da Madeira)<\/p>\n Ronaldo<\/a> might have lost the GOAT argument to Lionel Messi (which he definitely has), but he\u00a0arguably has the most infamous statue in football history.<\/p>\n The bust of Ronaldo\u2019s face was unveiled at a ceremony to rename the Portuguese island Madeira\u2019s airport after the then Real Madrid player. Cue social media meltdown.<\/p>\n Comparisons to Niall Quinn were made, whilst the creator of the statue, Emanuel Santos, had to defend his work.<\/p>\n Santos said: \u201cThis is a matter of taste, so it is not as simple as it seems. What matters is the impact that this work generated.\u201d<\/p>\n On this day in 2017 a statue of Cristiano Ronaldo was unveiled at Madeira\u2019s airport. pic.twitter.com\/FHORu0a2wQ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 B\/R Football (@brfootball) March 29, 2021<\/a><\/p>\n 1. Michael Jackson (Fulham)<\/p>\n Former Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed commissioned the 7.5ft statue of Jackson in 2011 and it stood outside Craven Cottage for two years before being removed by current Fulham owner Shahid Khan.<\/p>\n Al-Fayed and Jackson were close friends with the statue planned to be seen outside of Harrods, which the Egyptian owned at the time, after the popstar\u2019s death in 2009.<\/p>\n But the businessman sold the department store and Fulham became the surreal owners of the plaster and resin statue.<\/p>\n So bad it\u2019s almost good.<\/p>\n READ NEXT: 14 footballers with unusual hobbies: Camel racing, bingo, Piranhas, chess & more<\/a><\/p>\n TRY A QUIZ: Can you name the most expensive transfer for every age between 18-35?<\/a><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/ted-bates-statue-southampton-2007.jpg\")
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