Considering footballers all have to head out wearing exactly the same clothing as their teammates, they have to find their own ways to display any individualism.
That can lead to fancy boots, some sort of headwear, an interesting hairstyle, or a distinctive tattoo which can be shown off after a game or after scoring a goal.
We at 90min are going to take a look at some of the best and worst-looking tattoos footballers have displayed to the watching fans.
Paris Saint-Germain defender Sergio Ramos is here more through volume than varying levels of quality. If you like lots of tattoos, he’s in the best category.
The former Real Madrid man is absolutely covered in ink across his chest and back, and he takes every opportunity while on the pitch to show them to the fans watching at home.
AS Roma legend Daniele De Rossi has got plenty of tattoos all over the place. There is one that is an indirect reference to his career though.
As a very combative tackler in midfield, he has a tattoo on his calf depicting just what he used to get up to during his playing career. It was used heavily by SPAL recently when they announced De Rossi as their new coach.
Scusateci, noi lo ricordavamo diverso ??#ForzaSPAL #ALLASPAL #DeRossi ⚠️ pic.twitter.com/A9kTlNjZNs
— SPAL (@spalferrara) October 12, 2022
Former Liverpool striker Harry Kewell makes his way into the best category because, while a huge number of players get a tattoo sleeve on one arm, Kewell is one of few to have a colourful sleeve.
He has plenty of other tattoos to show off as well, but the colourful sleeve always caught the eye in his playing days.
He doesn’t seem to like showing it off on social media, but the colours can be seen poking out beneath his shirt below.
Another member of Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning squad features here. Marco Materazzi has got the World Cup trophy with the date of the final and ‘Berlin’ written beneath.
It’s his way of immortalizing the greatest night in his career. Not only the night when Italy won the World Cup, but the night when Zinedine Zidane headbutted him in the chest and got sent off. The tattoo can just about be seen on his thigh.
Former Everton and Australia star Tim Cahill boasts a very cool-looking sleeve on his left arm. The design stems from his Samoan heritage and is there to celebrate both that and his family members.
The names of all his family members, including his brother in law, and the names Everton and Millwall, are all on his sleeve. You can see the sleeve below while also getting to see a dog.
American footballer Natasha Kai is tattooed almost all over her body and it is believed that each of her tattoos represents a particular moment or hardship in her life.
She has got over 60 tattoos on her arms, legs, feet, hands, back, chest, sides and neck.
This one may not be John Carew’s fault, but the Norwegian former striker has got a tattoo on his neck in French that is supposed to say ‘My life, My rules’.
Due to the direction of the accent on the word for rules, though, it can be read by French speakers as ‘My life, My menstruation’. There is linguistic confusion around this one, but it’s the confusion that Carew would rather wasn’t there at all.
The tattoo is on his neck, although hard to read when not close up. Carew’s Instagram feed does not look like the average ex-footballer’s feed.
Former Crystal Palace defender Damien Delaney was a wonderful servant for the Eagles and other clubs during his career, but he did most of it with a very rough-looking clown tattoo on his left arm.
It is hard to know what the motivation was but the execution is poor.
German midfielder Dennis Erdmann, who plays in America for the Colorado Springs Switchbacks, decided it would be wise to get a kiss from his girlfriend tattooed in red onto his neck.
To be honest, it just looks like a scar or the result of a mild skin issue.
This is a seriously weird one. Italian forward Amato Ciciretti has had a career spent almost entirely on loan, mostly in Serie B. He’s had 11 loan spells in fact.
That’s a respectable career in football for a player who is now 28, but it may not warrant getting your Twitter handle tattooed onto your body. Incidentally, the account has been suspended.
Amato Ciciretti (@Ciciretti), joueur de Bénévent Calcio en Serie B, s’est fait tatouer son compte Twitter ! ✍️? pic.twitter.com/mwHMq7Q1cH
— Actu Foot (@ActuFoot_) February 6, 2017
Getting your Twitter handle tattooed on you may be egotistical, but it is not as bad as getting your own nickname and face inked onto your torso.
That is exactly what Andres D’Alessandro decided to do. His medical equipment covers it nicely below, but you can see the ‘E’ of D’ALE’ to get a sense of scale.
Credit: 90min.com
