In the Making of the Book Cover
The person behind the ‘Beyond Cristiano’ design
This is not a Cristiano Ronaldo wank club. Yes, I wrote a book named ‘Beyond Cristiano’, whose main protagonist is Ronaldo, and yes, the book talks about his blessings. But it also talks about his curses. What the book essentially is about are two different perspectives of the world, Ronaldo’s and Ronaldinho’s. Ronaldo is the one who is never satisfied with what he has achieved, who always wants to prove himself again. And Ronaldinho is the one who is not burdened with recognitions, who simply plays the game free of expectations and free of colours. The only reason Cristiano Ronaldo is in the title of the book and Ronaldinho is not is because I live in Manchester and Ronaldo is huge in Manchester. If you see that as a marketing trick, you are probably correct.
Hence, on the cover of the book is a big Ronaldo’s number seven made of stone. And it is red as well, which tells you that Ronaldo’s (second) Manchester United adventure is the focal point of the book. But if you pay a closer attention, you see it’s a cracking stone. It is not as indestructible as Ronaldo would like it to be. You see, that is the thing. It is a stone that is cracking under the touch of divinity. In fact, Ines Miščević, a person who designed that cover, claims that those hands, that symbolise divinity, don’t even touch the number seven (Ronaldo) but it is cracking anyway.
Why is it cracking then, Ines?
“It is cracking because Ronaldo is not untouchable.”
“Right! He has created a solid, stone-made, structure but that structure is not invincible. Like every structure, it is fragile.”
“Yes. It would be cracking with or without those hands of God. The hands are simply there for the visual impact and they trigger emotions.”
You see, marketing again. Emotions — the key to marketing. However, Ines knows the hands are not only there for the visual impact. There is a strong symbolism behind those hands as well, but that symbolism could have gone so wrong so easily if Ines didn’t spot my mistake.
What happened?
When I proposed my vision of the cover to Ines, I told her that I wanted a number seven, which symbolises Cristiano Ronaldo, and something divine going out of those cracks. Some force, light. Something with no name. God, perhaps.
“Make divinity coming out of that number seven,” I said. “Something that will symbolise that beneath all those masks and facades lies Ronaldo’s true power.”
Luckily, Ines spotted the error and told me that if she drew something divine coming out of the number seven, that would have been perceived as if Ronaldo himself was a god. Which is not what I wanted at all. Because, let’s remind ourselves, Ronaldo is not a god. He carries a mask of a superhuman who always needs to be the best, but no matter how big of a structure he has created, there has always been that crack that has been shining light on his human imperfection. It is a crack that might seem unnecessary from the perspective of a man who wants to be seen as a perfect man, but in my understanding, it is a portal to his true power that goes beyond his name and recognitions. It goes beyond Cristiano. That is what the crack in the number seven is meant to symbolise. It was not meant to symbolise Ronaldo is a god, but rather that he carries something of divine nature deep down. Just as we all are.
“Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.” — Leonard Cohen
To avoid making Ronaldo a god, Ines figured out a different way to add divinity to the book cover. She put God outside the number seven. She did it, using the all-time masterpiece ‘The Creation of Adam’ as an inspiration.
Now, I don’t want to open a Pandora’s box and start figuring out the meaning of the Michelangelo’s painting, because there are numerous of different interpretations. However, there is one particular theory that says God in the painting is in a uterus, womb. When I found that out, I had a small (not so small) ‘wooow’ moment and I knew it was a good idea that ‘The Creation of Adam’ becomes part of ‘Beyond Cristiano.’
Why?
Because the book starts with a discussion about Ronaldo’s hunger for success and two main characters, Edo and David, are trying to figure out where such mentality comes from. And the answer is rejection. His mother, Dolores, wanted to abort him when she became pregnant with Cristiano. She drank boiled black beer and ran until she fell she would drop.
“It all started in his mother’s womb,” claims Edo. “The moment Cristiano experienced that scent of beer while enjoying his bath in amniotic fluid, he must have been like, You want to get rid of me? I don’t think so! I will be the greatest. You will regret spilling the beer all over me.”
And then back to the Michelangelo’s painting. The green billowing scarf in the fresco, according to the mentioned theory, symbolises an umbilical cord — that very nasty tube that connects a mother and baby. How fucking amazing is that?
That scarf couldn’t just be ignored and so it is part of the book cover now. If you pay attention to the bottom hand on the cover, you will see a scarf fluttering carelessly. Can you see it? It is the fucking umbilical cord, that scarf!
Well executed, Ines!
“Yes, it couldn’t be just any scarf,” Ines gave me a designer’s insight. “It had to be in the same style as the rest of the painting. It couldn’t just be a regular fan scarf.”
And what that scarf on the bottom hand really is? If those blue and garnet colours of the scarf remind you of a Croatian flag, you are wrong. French? Noup. United States? Wrong! If that reminds you of the Barcelona colours, you have hit the jackpot. Because those are indeed the Barcelona colours.
And that is Ronaldinho for you right there. Do you see how the scarf is not tied up around the arm, but it is dancing freely? Do you get it? Ronaldinho — freedom. Divinity.
So, yes, Ronaldinho found his place on the cover after all. But it is hidden behind all those symbolics. Why? Because I live in Manchester and no one cares about Ronaldinho here.
It is all a bloody marketing trick that cover, I am telling you.
If you are interested, the book is available to buy on Amazon on the following links:
For the UK: https://shorturl.at/akosQ
For the US: https://rb.gy/jwm4vw
For Europe: https://shorturl.at/uxT04
The book is available in a print and digital version and it is edited and proofread by Frank T Bird.
