Lionel Messi has a tattoo of Noel Fielding on his back jokes the comic after spotting mystery inking on Barcelona star
NOEL FIELDING has joked that Lionel Messi has a tattoo of him on his back after spotting inking on Barcelona star's back that resembles him from a distance.
Argentine legend Messi has slowly added to his extensive collection of body-art over his career, the most striking of which is an all-black design that almost entirely covers his favoured left leg.
One of the very first tattoos the five-time Ballon d'Or winner had done was a portrait of his beloved mother Celia on his left shoulder blade.
But from a distance, Great British Bake Off host Noel noticed the uncanny resemblance between Messi's mother's long dark har to his own luscious locks.
And he hilariously pointed this out to fans after a video emerged of the Argentine returning to the Barcelona dressing room topless following the 4-1 win over Celta Vigo.
Mighty Boosh star Noel tweeted: "I always knew Messi would get a tattoo of me on his back one day x."
One fan replied: "Big Bake Off fan. He's also got one of Sandi appropriately lower down."
Another said: "Perhaps he's just a big fan of his teammate, the Mighty Busquests."
A third added: "I scrolled by without seeing who posted this and was like why does he have a tattoo of Noel Fielding on his back and OMG OMG OMG."
"You know this means you need a tattoo of messi with his tattoo of you now", a fourth tweeted.
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Family is a key theme throughout Messi's artwork, with the 32-year-old inking a picture of his son Thiago's hands along with his name on his calf.
He has also immortalised the names and dates of births as his other two sons Mateo and Circo to go beneath their older brother on his right leg.
And along with his mother, Messi also has a tattoo dedicated to the other women in his life - his childhood sweetheart Antonella Roccuzzo.
That piece, which is found on his left hip, is of his wife's lips and is shaded red.
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The video of his back tattoo came after he notched the 34th La Liga hat-trick of his career on Saturday to help down Celta Vigo in a 4-1 win.
In the process, Messi also levelled rival Cristiano Ronaldo's haul of Spanish top-tier trebles as Barcelona moved above his foe's former side Real Madrid at the top of the table on goal difference.
Despite entering his thirties, Camp Nou president Josep Bartomeu has stated that his star man will remain at the club until he is at least 37.