A wax figure of a famous British sportsman on display in a museum in Poland has left fans baffled on social media.
The eerie wax figure on display at the Tower of Secrets Wax Museum in Gdansk, Poland, has been compared to former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev.
But in reality it is England and Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney.
A snapshot of the wax figure has sparked a wave of humorous reactions on the Internet.
On Reddit, a bewildered fan, u/No-Philosopher5239, posted a photo of the wax figure on the r/CasualUK subreddit on August 4.
The image, which shows Rooney in a red Adidas jacket, shows a much slimmer figure, balding patches of hair, a stubble beard and pale skin, leading many to question his resemblance to the famous footballer.
A wax figure of Wayne Rooney on display at a museum in Poland has left fans on social media in stitches and baffled by its bizarre appearance.
The photo shows a sculpture of Rooney looking rather tired, sporting a red Adidas jacket and a much thinner figure, with bald patches of hair, pale skin and a patchy beard.
More than 1,000 responses have since poured in from Britons, many drawing parallels to characters from popular culture, including puppets from the TV show Thunderbirds, as well as hybrid species from cult sci-fi franchise Star Trek.
One person wrote: “Starfleet, but run by Birmingham City Council,” while another suggested: “More like Neelix from Voyager.”
A third said: “Looks like a Team America puppet,” while another joked: “Looks like a Thunderbirds puppet.”
Some fans even suggested that the wax figure looked like an older version of Rooney from an “alternate timeline.”
One wrote: “Looks like the old man who starts fights outside the bar,” while another said: “It’s like an alternate timeline, where Wayne suffers a career-ending injury very early on and spends the next 40 years in the men’s club, chain-smoking.”
A third joked: “I’m pretty sure I served this man a sausage, bean and cheese sandwich in Greggs today.”
One particularly notable comparison came from a fan who compared the sculpture to former Soviet Union President Mikhail Gorbachev, writing: “It looks more like Gorbachev.”
People said the wax figure looked more like late USSR leader Mikhail Gorbachev (left) than Wayne Rooney (right).
Meanwhile, two terrified fans commented on the sculpture’s sinister appearance, with one writing: “Wow that’s incredibly horrifying,” while another said: “I don’t know about you but wax figures are scary.”
This comes after a Dublin museum recently vowed to “do better” and pledged to create a more accurate wax figure of the late singer Sinéad O’Connor.
Her sculpture, which was unveiled on July 26 to mark the first anniversary of her death, was criticized by fans, with many comparing the model of the iconic singer to a Thunderbird.
“In response to public feedback on the wax figure, we acknowledge that the current representation did not meet our high standards or the expectations of Sinéad’s devoted fans,” a spokesperson for the National Wax Museum in Dublin said.
“With this in mind, we are committed to creating a new wax figure that better reflects the true spirit and iconic image of Sinéad O’Connor,” they revealed.
