There is a bronze statue and two mannequins at Museu CR7 in the Portugal captain’s home city of Funchal but what stands out is the vast trophy collection
The plaque says it all. Quite literally. “Melhor Jogador Do Mundo” – “Best Player In The World”. A bold claim and one that would no doubt be disputed by backers of a certain Argentinian based in Barcelona. But in Funchal there is only one contender for the crown. The plaque makes that clear too: “Cristiano Ronaldo”. All there in bronze underneath a 10ft bronze statue of the man himself in classic pose: arms stretched down by his side, legs spread, hair immaculately groomed. Peak Ronaldo? Not quite. That would be the building the statue is directly facing: Museu CR7.
That Ronaldo has his own museum in the city of his birth is not a surprise but what does raise an eyebrow upon visiting it, as I did on a sweltering August morning, is how easy it is to miss. From outside all you see is a single-storey building made up of an all-black frontage and a simple red-brick roof – hardly a sight that screams for your attention. But then you spot the statue, and the crowds gathered by it, and then, eventually, the giant “CR7” logos and it is a case of destination reached. Next up: entry, and everyone’s welcome. Even you, Lionel.
The museum is located at Praça do Mar, a square that stretches across the main port in Funchal, the capital of Madeira and where Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 (that’s on the plaque, too). He is indisputably the most famous son of the city and of Madeira, an archipelago located 600 miles south of the Portuguese mainland that is inhabited by just over 267,000 people and draws thousands more in tourism each year, due, in part, to its fine wine and even finer weather....
That Ronaldo has his own museum in the city of his birth is not a surprise but what does raise an eyebrow upon visiting it, as I did on a sweltering August morning, is how easy it is to miss. From outside all you see is a single-storey building made up of an all-black frontage and a simple red-brick roof – hardly a sight that screams for your attention. But then you spot the statue, and the crowds gathered by it, and then, eventually, the giant “CR7” logos and it is a case of destination reached. Next up: entry, and everyone’s welcome. Even you, Lionel.
The museum is located at Praça do Mar, a square that stretches across the main port in Funchal, the capital of Madeira and where Ronaldo was born on 5 February 1985 (that’s on the plaque, too). He is indisputably the most famous son of the city and of Madeira, an archipelago located 600 miles south of the Portuguese mainland that is inhabited by just over 267,000 people and draws thousands more in tourism each year, due, in part, to its fine wine and even finer weather....
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