A bronze figure of the football king Cristiano Ronaldo was set alight on January 21, 2026, outside the CR7 Museum in Funchal, Portugal. The unbelievable event already filmed by the burnt victim in the birth city of Ronaldo was later shared by him on social networks before the police turned up to arrest him.
The man, who went by the name “zaino.tcc.filipe” on social networks, spilled a flammable liquid on the statue, set it alight, and recorded it all on camera. In the hard-to-watch video, he was seen going through the motions and, amusingly, hinting, “This is God’s final warning.” The guy was already in the police books for the same type of offenses, as confirmed by the authorities.
Madeira police recognized and detained the person in the video almost instantly after it went viral. The first findings indicate that the fire was brief, so the bronze statue was not severely damaged.
This incident is the latest in a string of attacks on statues of Ronaldo in Funchal. In 2016, a statue of the footballer was defaced with the name and jersey number of rival player Lionel Messi, leading to its removal.
The CR7 Museum that shows off Ronaldo’s fantastic career and has his trophy collection, is a place where thousands of people come every year. The local authorities have yet to inform the public whether they will put in place additional security measures to keep the landmark safe from future acts of vandalism.
