Visitor attraction in Budapest welcomes a new celebrity to join Puskás, Ronaldo and Messi
Dominik Szoboszlai has just joined the pantheon of sporting greats at Madame Tussauds Budapest. The Liverpool star lines up alongside Ferenc Puskás, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi at this major visitor attraction in the heart of Hungary’s capital.
Unveiled to the public on Wednesday, November 19, the wax likeness shows Hungary’s captain in a familiar pose, hand-on-heart as the anthem plays before a major international. The midfielder was in Budapest for the vital World Cup qualifier with Ireland, earning his 61st cap.
Presenting the new figure in person, Szoboszlai said: “It feels great to stand here in the national team shirt – it means a lot to me – especially alongside legends like Öcsi Puskás. It’s a form of immortality and a recognition of your achievements”.
Over the past months, the player met twice with the Madame Tussauds experts, who used state-of-the-art technology to capture every physical detail — from the distance between his eyes, to his height, down to the exact tone of his hair. The team of artists, sculptors and stylists spent months working to make the wax figure as lifelike as possible. His tattoos alone were hand-painted over six weeks.
The choice of shirt wasn’t in question: “The national shirt means more to me than anything. Wearing the national colours is a privilege, but also a huge responsibility, and I fully understand the weight of it,” Szoboszlai said, in the wake of his team’s stoppage-time defeat to Ireland.
Picking himself up off the bench, where he had sat, head in hands, in the immediate aftermath of Hungary’s painful exit, a tearful Szoboszlai still made sure to go round the stadium, greeting all the fans at the Puskás Aréna.
“I’m proud if I can be a role model for young people, especially if it inspires more of them to start playing football. My story perhaps shows that anyone can achieve their goals if they work hard and stay persistent. As a child, I heard a lot about Hungary’s Golden Team and Ferenc Puskás.”
“My childhood idol was Cristiano Ronaldo – I respect him for how far he has come from where he started. At the same time, I don’t aim to become Ronaldo or Puskás – I want to walk my own path,” said Szoboszlai.
Liverpool’s No 8 returns to Anfield on Saturday for a Premier League game with Nottingham Forest. In the meantime, visitors to Madame Tussauds Budapest can have their pictures taken alongside the Hungarian hero.
Madame Tussauds Budapest, Dorottya utca 6, 1051 Budapest. Mon-Thur 10am-6pm, Fri-Sun 10am-8pm. Also open Dec 24-26 & 31, Jan 1. Extended opening hours Sun until Jan 4.
