What do John Lennon, JFK, Robin Hood, Nikola Tesla and Cristiano Ronaldo have in common? Well, as of today, they all have an airport named after them.
The airport on Ronaldo’s home island of Madeira is to be renamed in his honour, with the Portugal star attending a naming ceremony on Wednesday.
The Real Madrid forward is not the only footballer to have this honour – as anyone who’s travelled through George Best Belfast City airport will know.
But it’s not been much of a homecoming for Ronaldo so far – Portugal squandered a two-goal lead to lose to Sweden in a international friendly last night.
The 32-year-old Real Madrid star, who captained his country to become European champions last year, was born in the Madeira capital of Funchal before joining Sporting Lisbon and then Manchester United.
Some local politicians had opposed the decision to change the name of Madeira Airport to Cristiano Ronaldo Airport.
“Sometimes, national gratitude has short memory, but Madeira doesn’t,” Miguel Albuquerque, the president of the Madeira government, said when the name change was announced last year.
Funchal already has a Ronaldo statue and museum, as well as a hotel complex in honour of the Portugal captain.
This was his first appearance for Portugal on his home island, where he paraded the European Championship trophy before kick-off.
But the celebration was somewhat tarnished by a superb Sweden comeback, earning them a third consecutive international win.
Both sides are second in their respective World Cup qualifying groups at the midway point.
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