Barcelona’s talisman and football legend, Lionel Messi has been going under the needle to cover his several parts of the body with ink for quite a while. Messi took inspiration from his teammate Dani Alves who is known for his full body tats. Apparently, Messi was initially afraid of the pain so, he got his wife Antonella to get a tattoo first, and later, when he got his first tat, there was no stopping. The star has now collected some pretty impressive inks on his back, arm, and legs. Each of his tattoos holds a personal significance for him. Let’s take a look at Lionel Messi’s tattoos and their meanings.
1. “mother’s portrait” tattoo
tattoo: “mother’s portrait” tattoo on the left side of the back.
meaning: surely our favorite soccer player is a mama’s boy. his first tattoo is the portrait of his mother, celia, on his back. Messi has always been very close to her mother and considers her her lucky charm to help him achieve her dreams. he is kind of a family person, whose first priority is family. To express his love and respect for his mother, he had his mother’s portrait tattooed on her back. His mother Celia and his brother Matías manage their charitable foundation, ‘Fundacion Leo Messi’ which was founded in 2007 to help children in situations of risk.
2. ‘handprints’ tattoo
tattoo: “handprints” tattoo on the left calf muscle.
meaning: when messi became a father for the first time on november 2, 2012, he tattooed the handprints of his newborn baby ‘thiago’ In your leg. At that time, he even missed training to be with Antonella at the time of the birth of his child. he announced thiago’s birth on his facebook page by writing,
Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thank God for this gift! Thanks to my family for the support! a hug to all.”
3. ‘thiago’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘thiago’ tattoo on the left calf muscles.
meaning: messi went under the needle once again to show his fatherly love and affection for his newborn son, thiago. Initially, Messi made her son’s handprints in a beautiful heart-shaped tattoo. Previously, there were rumors that the hands represented the goal of “maradona’s hand of god”, but he cleared up the rumors that they are actually his son’s handprints by tattooing his son’s name, “thiago” , inside the tattoo of the handprints.
4. ‘football’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘football’ tattoo on the left leg.
Meaning: Messi developed a passion for football from an early age constantly playing with his brothers and cousins. Today, Messi is considered the best soccer player in the world and one of the best players of all time. he has achieved all this only through his dedication towards his goals. To express his consideration and feelings towards his only passion, he got the soccer ball tattooed on his leg.
5. ‘jesus’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘jesus’ tattoo on his right arm.
Meaning: A tattoo of the face of Jesus with a crown of thrones sits on the right arm of this soccer legend. This tattoo declares Messi’s religious beliefs and also pays homage to him.
6. ‘lotus’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘lotus’ tattoo on his right arm.
meaning: We all know that Messi hails from a small Argentinean city of Rosario. he is a perfect example of the rags to riches story and his lotus tattoo on his arm explains it too. It is part of Messi’s full sleeve tattoo and symbolizes that talent can grow anywhere. the lotus tattoo also has various spiritual meanings. In general, it symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, purity, and enlightenment.
7. ‘rose window’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘rosette’ tattoo on the right elbow.
Meaning: The ‘rose window’ tattoo, which is a prominent feature of this football star’s sleeve tattoo, is inspired by the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.
8. ‘king’s crown’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘king’s crown’ tattoo on his right arm.
meaning: messi got the “king’s crown” tattooed for his wife antonella roccuzzo, who has a similar tattoo on her right arm. therefore, the couple has tattooed the crown of the king and queen on their respective bodies.
9. ‘eye of antonella’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘eye of antonella’ tattoo on the right arm.
meaning: messi got his wife antonella’s eye tattooed on his arm. Messi has been in a relationship with Antonella since 2008 and has known her since she was just five years old. The couple announced the arrival of their first son Thiago in 2012 and second son Mateo in 2015. On June 30, 2017, the couple married, and following their marriage, they welcomed their third son in March 2018.
10. ‘giant clock’ tattoo
tattoo: “giant clock” tattoo on the right forearm.
Meaning: Along with a giant clock that decorates his entire right forearm, Messi also has clock gears. this really defines that time is the most valuable thing that a person can spend in her entire life.
11. ‘clock gears’ tattoo
tattoo: “clock gears” tattoo on the right forearm.
Meaning: Clock gear tattoos are considered a reminder of the passing of time and often reflect a desire to live in the present moment rather than looking to the past or worrying about the future. future.
12. ‘rosary’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘rosary’ tattoo on the right forearm.
Meaning: Messi got a rosary tattoo that forms the outline of his hometown, Rosario. messi’s tattoo artist, roberto lopez, explained that the initial intention was to create a rosary that represented the stories of her life through different images. Along with this tattoo, maps of South America and Europe tattoos are also inked. not only that, to cover the entire area, to give it a distinctive look, orange flowers are also inked. roberto said,
a clock and a part of the mechanism of chronos, god of time. the lotus flower, according to Japanese culture, means that wherever you come from, when you least expect it, one day you will bloom. the bud of that flower represents the son.”
13. tattoo ‘map of south america and europe’
no image available.
tattoo: “map of south america and europe” tattoo on his right arm, but the exact location of this tattoo is unknown.
meaning: no clear information about this tattoo is available.
14. tattoo ’10’
tattoo: ’10’ tattoo on the left leg.
meaning: the number 10 is lionel messi’s jersey number for the team ‘fc barcelona’ and ‘argentina national football’ . before, messi has the whole sleeve of a dagger with wings and rose print that he later managed to cover. Now, he only has the handprints, the number 10, and the football tattoos on his left leg.
15. ‘dagger with wings’ tattoo
tattoo: ‘dagger with wings’ tattoo on the left leg.
Meaning: Previously, Messi had a tattoo of a winged dagger covered with a pattern of roses around it. the soccer superstar was trolled many times on social media for this tattoo. Due to all this, she covered up the tattoos on her left leg. now, she only sees her son’s name along with her handprints, the number 10, and the football tattoo.
16. ‘birthday dates’ tattoo
tattoo: “date of birth” tattoo on both legs.
meaning: on his left leg, inside the tattoo of the handprints of his eldest son thiago, messi inked the dates of birth of his three children and his wife antonella. Thiago’s date of birth is November 2, 2012, Mateo’s is September 11, 2015, Ciro’s is March 10, 2018, and his wife Anonella’s is February 26, 1988. in On his right leg, along with the birth dates, Messi has the names of his three children and his wife Antonella inked.
17. tattoo ‘kissing lips’
tattoo: “kissing lips” tattoo just below the waist.
meaning: the kissing lips tattoo is the tattoo of his wife antonella’s lips. The couple had been dating since 2008 and married in 2017, after nearly 10 years of dating. Now, they are blessed with three sons, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. This tattoo is barely visible as it sits below the soccer superstar’s waist.
18. tattoo ‘matthew’
tattoo: ‘mateo’ tattoo on his right arm.
meaning: messi tattooed on his arm the name of his second son, mateo, who was born on september 11, 2015. after the birth of mateo, his parents (messi and antonella) They got married on June 30, 2017. Most of Messi’s tattoos are dedicated to his family members, showing his love and concern for each of them.
