Cristiano Ronaldo and other stars recreated as military generals in paint as football meets art
CRISTIANO RONALDO was crowned as the new emperor of Europe last night - and a fan has immortalised him in paint as a military general.
Italian artist Pupazzaro draws footballers in army gear and what was initially a hobby has turned into a business, with some PLAYERS even asking him for a portrait.
Apart from Real Madrid star Ronaldo, the likes of Nani, Paul Pogba, Hugo Lloris, Antoine Griezmann and Olivier Giroud were drawn by the Italian artist ahead of the Euro 2016 final.
Pupazzaro is actually Fabrizio Birimbelli, a 43-year-old computer programmer from Rome, who started painting players from his beloved AS Roma in his spare time - before gaining followers asking him for portraits of their idols all over the world.
He told SunSport: "I have painted and drawn since I was a kid and started this kind of stuff three or four months ago.
"The choice of these generals is because it gives an epic, but also ironic, view of the football 'heroes'.
"They are not really heroes, of course, but as a football fan, during the 90 minutes they look like that in your eyes."
And he even sent a portrait to Leicester City's title-winning manager, and fellow Italian, Claudio Ranieri, who Fabrizio said "liked it very much."
To see more of Pupazzaro's work, or to purchase any prints, click .
Pupazzaro can also be found on , and .