Footballers appear to be naturally drawn to tattoos, with many players getting inked up all over their bodies.
While many have a sentimental meaning, others are outright bizarre and leave many fans confused as to the reason behind them. Plenty of these tattoos have been on show at the World Cup in Qatar this year.
The latest to reveal his out-there ink is Richarlison, who has opted to pay tribute to three Brazil World Cup legends and himself with a tattoo on his back. Here, Mirror Football looks at that and six other inexplicable tattoos that footballers have shown off.
Richarlison
Brazilian striker Richarlison has revealed he has got a gigantic back tattoo of legends Ronaldo and Neymar alongside himself. It is styled in a Mount Rushmore look, with a young fan in a Richarlison shirt looking over favelas.
The tattoo also features a tribute to Pele, considered one of the greatest players of all time. While his face is not featured, the tattoo contains the message "you made Brazil smile, Pele", as well as a partial sight of the Brazilian national flag.
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Dele Alli
As he was breaking into the Tottenham and England teams, Dele Alli opted to commemorate his achievement. To do so, he bizarrely decided to get a tattoo of children's cartoon character Bam Bam on his left forearm.
Bam Bam is a character from legendary series The Flintstones and appears to be a nickname he calls himself. Alli previously had the name Bam Bam printed on his boots, with the tattoo version being mostly black and white.
Leroy Sane
Blazing a trail for Richarlison to follow was then-Manchester City star Leroy Sane. Now at Bayern Munich, as he celebrated a goal in May 2017, Sane took off his shirt to reveal a large back tattoo.
The tattoo was of a celebration he did during a Champions League game against Monaco earlier that season. All the more remarkable is that City had lost that clash on aggregate, meaning the celebration was soon forgotten.
Lionel Messi
He might be the world's greatest footballer, but Lionel Messi's taste when it comes to tattoos is far from classy. Messi's body is more or less covered in ink and in 2017 he revealed his latest addition.
Sitting near his groin is now the outline of his wife Antonella Rocuzzo's lips kissing him. The superstar reportedly got the tattoo to symbolise how he would always have his wife's kiss with him wherever he is.
Memphis Depay
Animals can be a favoured tattoo choice of many and Netherlands star Memphis Depay is no different. On his back is a giant tattoo of a heavily-detailed lion's face, which the forward has claimed has a deeper meaning.
He said: “I’ve always had a feeling that I’ve been brought up in the jungle. I was always outside, I’ve been to rough areas and I’ve been through rough times. The lion on my back represents me – I have the heart of a lion."
Luke Shaw
Luke Shaw is another player who has a penchant for getting a tattoo and the latest addition to his ink is one of the more out-there ones. Ahead of this year's World Cup, he showed off a tattoo of the Coco Pops monkey on his arm, which he claims is a tribute to his son.
Shaw told The Lions Den programme: “My son is obsessed with Coco Pops, he has a lot of them in the morning, I thought it would be quite cool because he is interested in my tattoos.”
Marcelo Brozovic
Another footballer who has many tattoos is Marcelo Brozovic, though some are absolutely bizarre. One of the hardest to understand is an emoticon he has tattooed on his hand, which does the same gesture he makes when he scored.
It reportedly comes from a photo he posted on Instagram in which he was accompanied by two girls, posing with his hand on his chin and his index finger pointing upwards.
