Lionel Messi: Argentina star kept promise to Brazil fan with tattoo of him

Lionel Messi is a man who is adored by millions across the globe.

The Paris Saint-Germain star is one of the most famous and loved athletes in history thanks to his unquestionable footballing brilliance.

Messi‘s popularity around the world is so great that many have honoured him with a tattoo on their body.

We have absolutely no idea exactly how many Messi tattoos there are out there, but we’d wager a decent amount of money that the overall figure is in the thousands.

But while we can’t provide specifics in that regard, we can name the greatest example of inked art featuring the Barcelona legend.

The tattoo belongs to a Brazilian named Igor Magalhaes, whose entire back is covered with an image of Messi’s iconic celebration after scoring a last-minute winner against Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2016/17.

You remember it, the one where the Argentine whipped off his jersey and held it up to the home fans, so they knew exactly who it was who’d broken their hearts.

It’s quite something, isn’t it? According to ESPN, it took three full sessions across 2019 to complete the colourful masterpiece.

Such was the dedication from Igor that when TYC Sports posted footage of the tattoo, Messi himself commented: “Terrible tattoo! I love it! I would like to see it and sign it.”

A Brazilian was interviewed by TyC Sports before the Argentina match and he showed his Lionel Messi tattoo which covers his entire back. Lionel Messi replied to the post on Instagram writing "Terrible (as in great) tattoo. I love it! I would like to see it and sign it." pic.twitter.com/na2Dq5NQn1

And as it turned out, Messi was a man of his word.

Last summer when Argentina visited Brazil for the 2021 Copa America, a rendezvous was arranged between Igor