Lionel Messi’s 18 Tattoos & Their Meanings

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.Lionel-messi-new-tattoo

1. ‘Mother’s Portrait’ Tattoo

messi's mothers potrait tat

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Tattoo: ‘Mother’s Portrait’ Tattoo on the left side of his back.

Meaning: Our favorite footballer sure is a mama’s boy. His very first tattoo is the portrait of his mother, Celia, on his back. Messi has always been very close to his mother and considers her as his lucky charm for helping him to achieve his dreams. He’s a kind of family person, whose first priority is family. To express his love and respect towards his mother, he got the portrait of his mother inked on his back. His mother Celia and his brother Matias manage his charitable trust, ‘Leo Messi Foundation’ which was founded in 2007 to help children in at-risk situations.

2. ‘HandPrints’ Tattoo

hands print

lionel messi-handprints tattoo

Tattoo: ‘HandPrints’ Tattoo on his left calf muscle.

Meaning: When Messi became a father for the very first time on November 2, 2012, he got the handprints of his newborn baby boy ‘Thiago’ tattooed on his leg. At that time, he even missed the training in order to be with Antonella at the time of the birth of their son. He announced the birth of  Thiago on his Facebook page by writing,

Today I am the happiest man in the world, my son was born and thanks to God for this gift! Thanks to my family for the support! A hug to everyone.”

3. ‘Thiago’ Tattoo

Messi leg tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Thiago’ Tattoo on his 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 got the handprints of his son inked within a beautiful heart shading tattoo. Earlier, there were rumors that the hands represented ‘Maradona’s Hand of God’ goal, but he cleared the rumors that it is actually the handprints of his son by getting his son’s name ‘Thiago’ inked within the handprints tattoo.

4. ‘Football’ Tattoo

lionel messi-football tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Football’ Tattoo on his left leg.

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.

5. ‘Jesus’ Tattoo

Lionel Messi Jesus Tat

Tattoo: ‘Jesus’ tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: A tattoo of Jesus’s face with a crown of thrones sits upon this football legends right arm. This tat declares Messi’s religious beliefs and pays homage to it too.

6. ‘Lotus’ Tattoo

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Tattoo: ‘Lotus’ Tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: We all know Messi hails from a small Argentina city Rosaria. He is a perfect example of rags to riches story and his Lotus tattoo on his arm also explains this. It is a part of Messi’s full sleeve tattoo and it symbolizes that talent can grow anywhere. The lotus tattoo has several spiritual meanings too. Generally, it symbolizes rebirth, new beginnings, purity, and enlightenment.

7. ‘Rose Window’ Tattoo

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Tattoo: ‘Rose Window’ Tattoo on his 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 Crown’ Tattoo

lionel messi-king crown tattoo

Tattoo: ‘King Crown’ Tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: Messi got ‘King Crown’ tattoo for his wife Antonella Roccuzzo who has got a similar tattoo on her right arm. Thus, the couple has got the king and queen crown tattoos on their respective bodies.

Antonella Roccuzzo-queen crown tattoo

Messi’s wife Antonella Roccuzzo has ‘queen crown’ tattoo on her right arm

9. ‘Antonella Eye’ Tattoo

lionel messi-antonella eye tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Antonella Eye’ Tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: Messi got his wife Antonella’s eye inked on his arm. Messi in a relationship with Antonella since 2008 and known to her since he was just five years old. The couple announced the arrival of their first son Thiago in 2012 and the second son Mateo in 2015. On June 30, 2017, the couple got married, and after their marriage, they welcomed their third son in March 2018.

10. ‘Giant Clock’ Tattoo

lionel messi-giant clock tattpoo

Tattoo: ‘Giant Clock’ Tattoo on his right forearm.

Meaning: Along with a giant clock that decorates his entire right forearm, Messi got timepiece cogs as well. This truly defines that time is the most valuable thing a person can spend in his entire lifetime.

11. ‘Timepiece Cogs’ Tattoo

lionel messi-timepiece cogs tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Timepiece Cogs’ Tattoo on his right forearm.

Meaning: The timepiece cogs tattoos are considered as the reminder of passing time, often reflecting the wish to live in the present moment rather than looking in the past or worrying about the future.

12. ‘Rosary’ Tattoo

lionel messi-rosary tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Rosary’ Tattoo on his 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 depicted the stories of his life through different images. Along with this tattoo, the maps of South American and Europe tattoos are also inked. Not only this, to cover the entire area, to give it a distinctive look, flowers of orange color are also inked. Roberto said,

A clock and a part of the mechanism of Cronos, God of time. The flower of lotus, according to Japanese culture, means that no matter where you come from when you least expect it one day you will bloom. The cocoon of that flower represents the son.”

13. ‘Map of South America and Europe’ Tattoo

No picture is available.

Tattoo: ‘Map of South America and Europe’ Tattoo on his right arm, but the exact location of this tattoo is not known.

Meaning: No clear piece of information regarding this tattoo is available.

14. ’10’ Tattoo

lionel messi-10 tattoo

Tattoo: ’10’ Tattoo on his left leg.

Meaning: The number 10 is the jersey number of Lionel Messi for ‘FC Barcelona’ and ‘Argentina National Football’ team. Earlier, Messi has the entire sleeve of a dagger with wings and roses pattern which he later got it covered. Now, he has only the handprints, number 10, and football tattoos on his left leg.

15. ‘Dagger with Wings’ Tattoo

lionel messi-dagger with wings tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Dagger with Wings’ Tattoo on his left leg.

Meaning: Earlier, Messi had a dagger with wings tattoo covered with a pattern of roses in its surroundings. The football superstar was trolled many times on social media for this tattoo. Due to all this, he got covered the tattoos on his left leg. Now, only his son’s name along with the handprints, number 10, and football tattoo is visible.

lionel messi-leg tattoo

Lionel Messi got covered his ‘dagger with wings’ tattoo

16. ‘Birthdates’ Tattoo

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messi-birthdates tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Birthdates’ Tattoo on his both legs.

Meaning: On his left leg, inside the handprints tattoo of his eldest son Thiago, Messi inked the birthdates of his all three sons and his wife Antonella. The birthdate of Thiago is November 2, 2012, Mateo’s is September 11, 2015, Ciro’s is March 10, 2018, and wife Anonella’s is February 26, 1988. On his right leg, along with the birthdates, Messi got inked the names of his all three sons and his wife Antonella.

17. ‘Kissing Lips’ Tattoo

lionel messi-kissing lips tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Kissing Lips’ Tattoo just below his waistline.

Meaning: The kissing lips tattoo is the tattoo of his wife Antonella’s lips. The couple was dating since 2008 and tied knot in 2017, after almost 10 years of dating. Now, they are blessed with three sons, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. This tattoo is merely visible as it is located below the waistline of the football superstar.

18. ‘Mateo’ Tattoo

lionel messi-mateo tattoo

Tattoo: ‘Mateo’ Tattoo on his right arm.

Meaning: Messi got the name of his second son’s name, Mateo, inked on his arm who was born on September 11, 2015. After the birth of Mateo, his parents (Messi and Antonella) tied the knots on June 30, 2017. Most of the tattoos of Messi are dedicated to his family members, showing his love and concern for each one of them.

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