What is it about footballers and statues? After the sculptural scandals that were those of Diego Maradona, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, now it’s George Best who could have done with some help from facial recognition software.
The statue that was unveiled on Wednesday to mark what would have been the Manchester United legend’s 73rd birthday has swiftly drawn scorn in the harsh world that is social media.
Located at Windsor Park in Belfast, the statue of Best - who died in 2005 - is the work of local artist Tony Currie.
But this is one Currie that isn’t to everyone’s taste with many people pointing out that the statue is more like Best’s former Northern Ireland team-mate, Pat Jennings, than the man known for scoring on and off the pitch.
Jennings was present at the inauguration and described his old friend as an “unbelievable and incredible” player. And the statue? “Beautiful”, the former Tottenham and Arsenal goalkeeper told The Belfast Telegraph.
Hello, is that Lionel?
Not everyone agrees. The statue has also been likened to the king of the soft soul ballad, Lionel Richie, while others see in the mullet a touch of Chris Waddle, circa 1990. Or is there even a nod to Kevin Keegan’s barnet during his days managing Newcastle?
Popular TV detective Columbo also gets a namecheck, as do Harry Enfield’s The Scousers and one or two are wondering if in fact it’s not the Irish footballing wizard but the White Walkers from Game of Thrones?
Mo Garfunkel
But Best is in good company and increasingly it’s a rarity to find a statue that does indeed resemble its original. When Maradona’s statue was unveiled in India in 2017 many people saw Dallas heartthrob Bobby Ewing and not the cheating Argentine genius.
Then there was Mohamed Salah’s sculpture, the spitting image of singer Art Garfunkel, and of course, the infamous Cristiano Ronaldo bronze bust.
Madeira whine
When it was first unveiled at Madeira airport in 2017, Ronaldo’s tribute left British sports fans torn between those who saw lanky former Manchester City striker Niall Quinn and those who spotted more than a passing resemblance to ex-England fast bowler Darren Gough.
Whoever it looked like, it wasn’t a portrayal of the Portuguese superstar. Eventually the bust was replaced in 2018 after a request from Ronaldo’s family.
Best’s statue, reports The Guardian, is being rated as “worse than Ronaldo’s”, but for the moment his family say they are pleased. Perhaps Lionel Richie is, too. After all, it’s not often American singers get their own statue in Belfast.
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