The best and worst statues in football

A brand-new Harry Kane statue was recently unveiled after years of being kept in storage.

The social media reaction was not dissimilar to the derision when Cristiano Ronaldo’s statue was revealed in Madeira back in 2017.

Here, FourFourTwo looks at some of the most famous and infamous statues in football.

Harry Kane

Starting with Kane’s new statue, which has found a home at the Peter May Sports Centre in Walthamstow – where the England captain first played football.

The statue had actually been rejected by Transport for Greater London in 2020 after it was suggested it could be placed in Chingford Overground station.

After four years in storage, the bronze statue has now found a more suitable home.

Art critic Estelle Lovatt told Sky News: “It’s imposing because of its size and it’s fantastical because of its size, but it lacks any aesthetic creativity.”

Cristiano Ronaldo

One of football’s greatest-ever stars arguably has the most infamous statue in football history.

The bust of Ronaldo’s face was unveiled at a ceremony to rename the Portuguese island Madeira’s airport after the then Real Madrid player.

Cue social media meltdown.

Comparisons to retired Irish footballer Niall Quinn were made, whilst the creator of the statue, Emanuel Santos, had to defend his work.

Santos said: “This is a matter of taste, so it is not as simple as it seems. What matters is the impact that this work generated.”

Bobby Moore

Moving on to a statue held in higher regard, the statue of Bobby Moore with his arms crossed in a commanding pose is one of the most iconic statues of British footballers.

The figure stands outside Wembley and commemorates the life of the legendary England and West Ham centre-back who captained England to glory in 1966.

The statue was revealed in 2007 by Sir Bobby Charlton, just before the opening game of the new Wembley.

Thierry Henry

One of the most iconic silhouettes of the Premier League years is Thierry Henry’s knee slide celebration after scoring against North London rivals Tottenham Hotspur in 2002.

Arsenal commemorated their 125^th year as a club by revelling three statues in 2011 – manager Herbert Chapman, legendary captain Tony Adams and a statue of Henry’s knee slide to celebrate the club’s record goal scorer.

Henry, who ranked at no.1 in FourFourTwo's list of the best Premier League players of all time, scored 228 goals in 377 for the Gunners and also scored the last-ever goal at Highbury before Arsenal moved to the Emirates Stadium.

Michael Jackson

Back to more *ahem* Bad statues for this one.

Former Fulham chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed commissioned the 7.5ft statue of the popstar in 2011 and it stood outside Craven Cottage for two years before being removed by current Fulham owner Shahid Khan.

Al-Fayed and Jackson were close friends with the statue planned to be seen outside of Harrods, which Al-Fayed owned at the time, after Jackson’s death in 2009.

But the businessman sold the department store and Fulham became the unlucky owners of the plaster and resin statue.

Bill Shankly

Widely regarded as one of the greatest British managers of all time the famous Shankly statue was placed outside the Kop at Anfield in 1977.

The statue depicts Shankly with both arms aloft and a scarf around his neck, and a plaque on the base below reads ‘He Made The People Happy’.

Shankly, who ranked at no.4 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest managers ever, took Liverpool from a second division side to a major footballing powerhouse winning three league titles during his tenure.

Sir Alex Ferguson

Cross the M62 and another statue depicts a brilliant Scottish manager.

This one is of legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson and stands outside Old Trafford.

The statue was commissioned in 2011 to celebrate Sir Alex’s 25^th year at the club, with the North Stand at Old Trafford being renamed the Sir Alex Ferguson Stand.

The most successful manager in Premier League history, Sir Alex won 13 Premier League titles and was crowned FourFourTwo’s greatest manager ever.

In 2022, Aberdeen also revealed a statue of Sir Alex to celebrate his success with the club.