Cristiano Ronaldo Statue Set on Fire in Bizarre Madeira Incident

A young vandal filmed himself dousing Cristiano Ronaldo’s bronze statue outside the CR7 Museum in Madeira with flammable liquid before setting it ablaze and dancing to rap music for his 1,000 Instagram followers. Police have identified the culprit and are searching for him. The statue, previously vandalised by Messi fans in 2016, appears to have suffered limited damage.

In the Portuguese island of Madeira, police are searching for a young vandal who filmed himself setting fire to a Cristiano Ronaldo statue outside the CR7 Museum in Funchal. The video, posted on Instagram to roughly 1,000 followers, shows the man pouring a flammable liquid over the bronze figure before igniting it and dancing to loud rap music. At one point, the flames briefly engulf the statue and nearly reached the man’s clothing before dying down. He captioned the clip with the cryptic message: “This is God’s last warning.”

Authorities confirmed they have identified the suspect, who is already known locally for similar acts, but have yet to apprehend him. Ronaldo fans flooded his Instagram with anger and criticism, calling the stunt unnecessary and attention-seeking, with some unfollowing him. The statue, unveiled in December 2014 and later moved in 2016 after its earlier vandalism by Messi supporters, is famous for its exaggerated sculpting and has long been a target for mockery and rivalry-fueled pranks.

Ronaldo, now playing for Al-Nassr in Saudi Arabia, once described the statue’s creation as a special moment for his hometown. Museum representatives declined further comment, stating only that the matter is now with police and that damage assessments are ongoing.