Cristiano Ronaldo bust which was ridiculed is remade by artist after one year… and people love it

THE sculptor behind the Cristiano Ronaldo bust that was mocked worldwide has been given a second go at it - and it's much better.

Emmanuel Santos' original creation was ridiculed everywhere when it was unveiled last year in Madeira.

But a year on from what can only be called a disastrous attempt at recreating in statue form the Real Madrid superstar, his new version has won over fans... mostly.

gave the artist - who had never done a bust before the infamous one was unveiled last March - a second chance.

Santos worked on the original for two weeks and says Francisco Fernandes, the man who gave him the green light to make the sculpture, was originally happy.

He said: "He was very impressed as he didn't know who I was and didn't expect much."

Even more bizarrely, Ronaldo himself had texted his approval of the bust.

Things soon took a turn for the worse, however, with the Portugal icon picking up on its inaccuracies.

Santos added: "[Ronaldo's] smile is ripped to the left side.

"I made the wrinkles exactly as they are, but Ronaldo said that they looked a bit too protruding and asked if they could be thinned out.

"As we know, Ronaldo is vain. He likes to be all groomed up!"

And social media users were on the whole much more in favour of the new Ronaldo - which won't replace the original.

One said: "Second one is much better."

Another wrote: "That's mint."

One fan posted: "Great courage and determination from the sculptor to redo his work after so much criticism. Definitely a great improvement."

However, some were not so convinced.

One user said: "Please don't challenge him again, he should not be encouraged and should think about another career."

Another posted: "Maybe he should search for another job."

A fellow social media user wrote: "I showed both to my seven-year-old nephew and he likes the first one better. 'It's more like Ronaldo,' he said."