Lionel Messi’s Tattoos & Their Meanings
Lionel Messi, the talisman of Barcelona and a footballing legend, has been getting tattoos on various places of his body for a time. Dani Alves, another player who is well-known for his full-body tattoos, served as an inspiration to Messi. Messi reportedly feared the pain at first, so he had his wife Antonella get a tattoo first. After that, when he got his first tattoo, there was no turning back. The celebrity’s back, arms, and legs now sport a pretty astounding collection of tattoos. Every tattoo he has a special meaning for him. Check out Lionel Messi’s tattoos and their significance below.
ZulWeb.com explain the meaning of Leo’s 18 tattoos with the help of Body Art Guru’s detailed analysis.
- ‘Mother’s Portrait’ Tattoo – The portrait of his mother, Celia, on his back was actually Messi’s very first tattoo. There is probably no need to explain its meaning as the Argentine’s feelings towards his mum are quite obvious.
- ‘HandPrints’ Tattoo – This one is dedicated to Leo becoming a father for the first time in 2012.
- ‘Thiago’ Tattoo – Even though Messi’s genuine intention was to tattoo the handprints of his newborn son Thiago, some suggested that it represents ‘Maradona’s Hand of God’ goal. Thus, Leo was forced to add his son’s name to the handprints tattoo.
- ‘Football’ Tattoo – Well, what else should you expect from one of the game’s greatest players of all time?
Meaning: Messi developed a passion for football from an early age by playing constantly with his brothers and cousins. Today, Messi is considered the best football player in the world and one of the greatest players of all time. He has achieved all this only through his dedication towards his goals. To express his regard and feelings towards his sole passion, he got inked the football on his leg.
- ‘Jesus’ Tattoo – This one is quite obvious too as Messi’s religious beliefs are no secret to anyone.
- ‘Lotus’ Tattoo – Messi has grown from a poor Rosario boy to a global superstar so no wonder he got the symbol of rebirth, new beginnings, purity, and enlightenment tattooed on him.
- ‘Rose Window’ Tattoo – This part of Leo’s sleeve tattoo pays homage to the Sagrada Familia basilica in Barcelona.
- ‘King Crown’ Tattoo – In fact, this is the only couple’s tattoo of Messi and his wife Antonella Roccuzzo who also has a ‘queen crown’ tattoo on her arm.
- ‘Antonella Eye’ Tattoo – Another gesture towards his beloved wife.
- ‘Giant Clock’ Tattoo – The 33-year-old certainly knows that despite all the money he’s earned throughout his glorious career, time remains the most valuable thing in one’s life.
- ‘Timepiece Cogs’ Tattoo – Another reminder of time passing by too fast.
- ‘Rosary’ Tattoo – Messi’s homage to his hometown of Rosario.
- ‘Map of South America and Europe’ Tattoo – As per Body Art Guru, this tattoo is placed on Leo’s right arm but no one really knows its true meaning.
- ’10’ Tattoo – The Argentine has already gone down in history as one of the greatest No.10s so no wonder he got his Barcelona and Argentina number tattoed.
- ‘Dagger with Wings’ Tattoo – This one actually no longer exists. Messi decided to cover all the tattoos on his left leg, apart from the ones that we’ve already mentioned after getting trolled on social media for the dagger pic.
- ‘Birthdates’ Tattoo – This one includes the birthdates of Messi’s three sons and wife Antonella.
- ‘Kissing Lips’ Tattoo – This one depicts Antonella’s lips.
- ‘Mateo’ Tattoo – Leo got this one after the birth of his second son Mateo in 2015.