- Shamser Khalid
10 Famous Footballers and Their Tattoo Stories
Different athletes have something about them that makes them stand out. Whether it be their skills, their personality, or something else, there are certain athletes that just stand out. When it comes to football players, there is one thing that makes a selection of players stand out, and that is their tattoos. Tattoos are not uncommon among athletes, however, there are some famous players with impressive ones.
There are all kinds of topics surrounding tattoos on athletes. For some players, their tattoos hold significance to them. These are just a few famous players with stories behind their tattoos:
Memphis Depay
If there is any player that is highly known for their tattoos, it is Memphis Depay. The Dutch professional footballer has the title “King of Tattoos.” His most iconic tattoo is of the giant lion's face on his back.
During an interview, Memphis expressed that the lion tattoo on his back symbolizes his personality, depicting his fearless nature similar to that of a lion. The tattoo took him nearly 24 hours to complete in Manchester, and he has a lion tattoo on his left leg as well.
Lionel Messi
Considered one of the greatest players in soccer, Messi is a footballer that’s been seen with several tattoos around his arms and legs. One of Messi’s most significant tattoos is of the “handprints” around his left calf muscles.
He got the tattoo on his calf after he became a father for the very first time on November 2, 2012. They represent the handprints of his newborn baby boy ‘Thiago’. He also has his son’s name tattooed on his left calf muscles.
Neymar
Neymar is a Brazilian professional footballer known for his dribbling skills and has several tattoos all over his body. One of his most famous tattoos is the one of his sister on his right arm. The siblings came from humble beginnings and overcame several struggles together.
The two have such a close bond that Rafaela has tattooed Neymar’s eyes on her arm. This is just one of Neymar’s more prominent tattoos, there are plenty of reports showcasing his different tattoos and how they represent his love for his family.
David Beckham
While he may no longer be playing on the field, David Beckham is still recognized as one of the most famous footballers to have played. While he has made plenty of achievements, he is also known for having around 50 or so tattoos. Many of his tattoos have different meanings, while some are exactly what they look like. An example of the latter is the names of his family on his left forearm.
According to an interview, Beckham had come up with the idea of getting tattoos when his son was born in 1999. “When you see me, you see the tattoos. You see an expression of how I feel about Victoria and the boys. They're part of me,” he said.
Dani Alves
Dani Alves is a Brazilian football player knowns as one of the best full-backs and holds several awards to his name. While he is known as a formidable player, he is also known for his love for his family and his tattoos reflect this. If one were to inspect the player’s chest, tattoos of his children’s names plus their birthdays in roman numerals.
One of his more prominent tattoos is of the woman on his right arm, which is said to be of his wife Dinorah. However, there have been people who have mistaken the face as being the player’s mother instead.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic
There are some players with rather artistic tattoos and Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of them. Ibrahimovic is a Swedish professional footballer known for his acrobatic strikes and volleys, powerful long-range shots, and excellent technique and ball control. While he has a fish on the left-top area of his back and a dragon on his right hip, those are not his most significant tattoos. His most significant tattoos would be the set of numbers on his right wrist. Some called the tattoos the ‘Zlatan Ibrahimović code’.
It was later clarified that code is nothing but the birthdates of all the male members in his family, including his father Sefik, late brother Sapko, another brother Aleksander and his two sons, Maximilian and Vince.
Sergio Ramos
If there is one player who has no shortage of tattoos on their body, it would be Sergio Ramos. The Spanish professional footballer has over 42 tattoos, many of them holding a significant story to them. Among the many tattoos he has, there is a special one on his left tricep. The tattoo is of a Hexagram that is a six-pointed star that is situated in the midnight sky full of clouds.
Ramos got a six-star tattoo in honor of his grandmother, Nena, who had given a pendant with the same six-pointed design to his mother. The tattoo symbolizes six virtues which include love, knowledge, wisdom, life, understanding, and loyalty.
Joe Hart
Joe Hart is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper. While he is not the most famous player compared to the above listed, he does have a notable tattoo that makes him stand out. That tattoo is of armor on his right shoulder. According to reports, the tattoo on his shoulder makes him feel empowered and protected. It was crafted by an artist named Lancs Live.
As a player, Hart is known for his aggressive nature on the pitch. Being a goalkeeper, several times, he has faced strikers in one-on-one situations, which sometimes ended with a clash. Because of this, his armor tattoo is considered unsurprising for him to have.
Nicolas Otamendi
Plenty of people have had something from a piece of media tattooed on them due to how significant it is to them. Otamendi is one of them as evidenced by the tattoos on his back. The tattoos are of three faces of famous TV characters. These characters are Tommy Shelby from the famous BBC series Peaky Blinders, Walter White from the American TV show ‘Breaking Bad’ and Ragnar from the series Vikings’.
Sources say that Benfica defender is a frequent TV series audible, and the characters tattooed on his back are his all-time favorites. Aside from this, the player has stated that he started tattooing at 14 and it has become a part of his personality.
Antoine Griezmann
The French professional football player is a versatile athlete with his share of achievements including becoming the third best player in the world in France Football’s Ballon d’Or ceremony. Some of his more prominent tattoos can be found on the right side of his body. Many of his tattoos are on the spiritual side but there is one tattoo that is different from the rest.
It is one of the many tattoos that can be found on his right arm. The tattoo is the initials of his parents’ names. They are reportedly engraved on his arm as a sign of his gratitude towards them.
