Footballers and tattoos – it’s as iconic a combination as Ant and Dec. Young stars earning thousands of pounds a week love spending their downtime getting ‘inked’.
Alejandro Garnacho is the latest in a string of players to get striking artwork permanently etched onto their skin. On Monday the Chelsea star showed off his latest tat to fans on his Instagram. The Argentine added a huge portrait of Heath Ledger’s ‘Joker’ done by artist Ganga across his entire back to add to his collection of pop culture bodywork.
Garnacho already has artwork paying tribute to Millie Bobby Brown’s role in Netflix’s Stranger Things, iconic Noughties TV show Prison Break and Japanese cartoon series Captain Tsubasa.
Alejandro Garnacho showed off his new tattoo inspired by Heath Ledger’s Joker
So why do they do it? The combination of youth, a lot of money and long periods of downtime makes footballers the perfect canvases for some of the world’s most striking and sometimes strange body art.
We’ve put together a list of football’s most iconic tattoos…
1. Leroy Sane’s self-portrait
From one back to another. The former Manchester City winger got a full self-portrait of himself celebrating a goal against Monaco for the Citizens in the Champions League during the 2016-17 season.
This was Sane’s first goal for the club in the Champions League. There’s one small catch however… City ended up losing the tie 6-6 on away goals to Kylian Mbappe’s Monaco.
Sane was mocked by teammate Raheem Sterling at the time, with the England forward saying on Instagram: “what a s*** tattoo, My name’s @leroysane19 and I love myself.”
The German winger – now at Galatasaray – said that he sat for four painful days whilst getting it done. Whilst the artist is unknown, Sane is a regular at tattoo studio Pardon Paris which regularly serves celebrity clientele, and where prices can reach in excess of thousands per hour.
Leroy Sane played for four seasons at Manchester City under Pep Guardiola…
and Raheem Sterling, then at City, had an unfavourable reaction to Sane’s tattoo
2. Messi’s magical left foot
Messi’s left foot is feared by defenders and goalkeepers alike. In 2012 to celebrate the birth of his first son, Thiago, Messi began inking his famous appendage.
The Argentine’s left leg has gone through many iterations of tattoos, including housing a dagger and wings. Messi had been previously mocked for these on social media, so he got most of them blacked out. Today, his son’s hand print, birthdates, a football and his iconic No 10 are what remains on the GOAT’s lethal left foot.
The Argentine has many other tattoos over his body including; his mother’s portrait, Jesus, rosary beads, and a stained glass window from the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona.
Messi is known to have a close friendship with Argentinian tattoo artist Roberto Lopez, who is credited with much of work on the Inter Miami forward. Experts estimate Messi’s tattoos would have cost more than £50,000, taking into account multiple cover-ups, long sessions and flying out the artist.
Lionel Messi has a large number of tattoos including this impressively inked right arm
… and his lethal left foot is now inscribed with the No10, a football, and the birthday of his son
3. Rashford’s love of Manchester
Manchester United forward – and Barcelona loanee – Marcus Rashford is covered in ink.
The Mancunian has plenty of religious imagery on his body including three verses from the Bible, a tribute to his late grandmother and hands clasped together in prayer on his shoulder. What may soften United fans’ sentiment towards the England winger is Rashford also has multiple tattoos dedicated to Manchester.
The Englishman has the Manchester Bee inked on his upper forearm, as well as an image of the house he grew up on in a Manchester housing estate on his torso. What will tug on United fans’ heartstrings the most, however, is Rashford has inked his career path for the Red Devils on his stomach. He has three shirts with the numbers ‘39’, ‘19’, and ‘10’ to symbolise his journey from academy graduate to starter at Manchester United.
Rashford’s go-to tattoo artist is ‘Andy B’ from The Tattoo Society in Liverpool. The estimated cost of the England winger’s full collection ranges from £15,000 to £20,000.
Marcus Rashford shows off his leg tattoos during England training in Florida this week
On his torso there is a tattoo of the 1968 Olympics Black Power salute, as well as shirts with Nos 39, 19 and 10 – charting his time at Manchester United
4. Sergio Ramos’ gallery
Sergio Ramos has potentially the most impressive collection of body art in the footballing world. The Spaniard is covered in hundreds of tattoos ranging from the Immaculate Heart of Mary on his lower back to the Champions League trophy on his calf.
Ramos has two ‘tats’ dedicated to his favourite animal, the wolf. Behind his left ear he has the Chinese symbol for ‘wolf’ and on the back of his neck a quote reading “A Lion Never Loses Sleep Over The Opinions Of The Sheep”.
It is believed that these are references to Ramos’s playing style which has earned the Real Madrid legend his critics and adulation from the Los Blancos faithful. Ramos also has the numbers ‘90’ and ‘93’ inked on his left hand in a reference to the 93rd-minute equaliser Ramos scored in the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in 2014.
Ramos is known to trust Spanish artist Rodrigo Galvez for almost all of his ink. Ramos is even said to have introduced Galvez to his Real teammates, including Colombian James Rodríguez. The extent of Ramos’ tattoos makes accurately estimating the cost rather difficult but based on Galvez’s prices the Madrid defender likely spent up to £80,000 on the artwork.
Sergio Ramos’s body is covered in tattoos including a wolf, a lion, and religious symbolism
His hands are also covered, including a large rose and a number of symbols on his fingers
5. Richarlison’s Mount Rushmore
The Tottenham Hotspur striker has a very prominent tattoo of a pigeon on his neck. This is, of course, a reference to the Brazilian’s celebration where he imitates a pigeon – something Spurs fans saw only six times this season.
Richarlison has a tattoo of himself aloingside Brazil legends Ronaldo and Neymar
The Tottenham forward also has a giant tattoo of a pigeon on his neck, referencing his signature goal celebration
The former Evertonian has another huge tattoo on his back. This depicts Brazilian legends Neymar Jr and Ronaldo Nazário, with Richarlison himself in the foreground. It is unclear whether Spurs’ striker views himself as a great alongside the two legends or is suggesting an aspiration to become one. Below this image is a young Richarlison holding a football looking over a favela in a clear homage to the striker’s roots.
London based Dom Tattoo alongside side artist ‘PK’ created Richarlison’s striking back piece. We can estimate that this piece would cost around £15,000.
That rounds off our list. Do you think these are football’s most iconic tattoos or have we left some off? Let us know in the comments.
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