FACT CHECK: Cristiano Ronaldo Statue Is AI Generated

An image shared on Threads claims to show a statue of soccer player Cristiano Ronaldo.

Verdict: False

The image is generated by artificial intelligence.

Fact Check:

Social media users are claiming an image shows a giant statue of Ronaldo in front of a stadium. One user wrote that it was the largest statue of Ronaldo unveiled.

This claim is false. There has been no media reporting on a purported giant statue of Ronaldo unveiled. A wider internet search also did not yield these results.

Check Your Fact ran the image through several AI-image detector engines, such as Hive Moderation, WasItAI and Sight Engine, which showed that the image was likely created by artificial intelligence.

NewsMeter also debunked the claim. A statue of Ronaldo, not matching the one in the Threads post’s image, was unveiled in Times Square in February 2025, according to the New York Post.