There was some good news on Tuesday. In the aftermath of the Notre-Dame fire, which is being viewed as an accident and not arson, the iconic Paris landmark remains structurally sound. France president Emmanuel Macron vowed the cathedral would be rebuilt and millions of Euros are pouring in to aid the effort.
After the Notre-Dame fire broke out on Monday, footballers from around the world — particularly those from France or located in France — paid tribute to the Catholic cathedral on social media.
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These Notre-Dame fire tributes all came from French players who play outside of France, with the exception of Kylian Mbappé of PSG.
Terrible images of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame, one of the most beautiful monuments of Paris in flames. We send our gratitude to those fighting to tackle the blaze.
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_English) April 15, 2019
Other PSG players not from France also paid tribute, including Neymar, who maybe made the weirdest tribute of the lot.
Instead of focusing on the historic cathedral, the Brazilian focused on the Disney movie “The Hunchback of Notre-Dame,” itself based on the novel by Victor Hugo, posing an image of Quasimodo hugging the cathedral.
To be fair, most people in the Western Hemisphere will never see Notre-Dame cathedral in person, so the 1996 animated film is more relatable than pictures of another old church in Europe (and there are a lot of old churches in Europe).
Here are a few more Notre-Dame fire tributes from the soccer world.
Quelle tristesse de voir ce monument de notre patrimoine en flammes ... #NotreDamedeParis pic.twitter.com/7ySOIa4wOj
— Eugénie Le Sommer (@ELS_9_FRANCE) April 15, 2019
Devastated to see what happened at Notre Dame yesterday, I hope that such a masterpiece of architecture and art can soon be rebuild so we can again amaze at the majesty of the Cathedral pic.twitter.com/RQdozDopLX
— Basti Schweinsteiger (@BSchweinsteiger) April 16, 2019