Top Tattoos: A football XI of tattooed players

David Beckham and his tattoos
David Beckham and his tattoos

Football team of tattooed players. A start to a new era where almost every footballer is getting tattooed. Some tattoos have a story or meaning behind behind it. Others are just meant to be. To share the stories of their life with their fans, to show their love towards something, footballers prefer to cover their body with ink instead of writing a book about it. Some tattoos are really eye-catching and some tattoos really make us laugh!

We bring to you the ‘Tattooed Football Club’ which includes the football players who have extra-ordinary ink and designs on their body.

Formation: 3-4-3

Goal-keeper: Tim Howard

#1 football team of tattooed players

Country: United StatesClub: Everton

Very few people know that Tim Howard has got tattoos on his body. The American goalkeeper’s tattoos include Superman’s logo, his mother’s name, dragons and a cross, Chinese characters that represent God, family, faith, health, and happiness. Being a goalkeeper, he rarely gets to take off his jersey to display his tattoos!


Right Centre-defender: Sergio Ramos

#2 football team of tattooed players

Country: SpainClub: Real Madrid CF

Sergio Ramos has a total of 11 tattoos on his body including his arms, back, right wrist and even left middle finger! Some of them represent his parents’ names, the initials of his siblings along with his own, ‘MSR’ and several phrases in different languages. The Spaniard got his first tattoo at the age of 15.


Centre-defender: Martin Skrtel

#3 football team of tattooed players

Country: SlovakiaClub: Liverpool FC

The Liverpool defender has eye-catching sleeves covered with tattoos. Apart from his sleeves and back, Skrtel also has a tattoo on his rib cage with the words ‘Veni, Vidi, Vici’, which means ‘I came, I saw, I conquered’.


Left Centre-defender: Daniel Agger

#4 football team of tattooed players

Country: DenmarkClub: Brondby

Being a qualified tattoo artist, Daniel Agger has covered his back and both his sleeves with extra-ordinary inking. The Danish defender has even got the initials YNWA tattooed on his knuckles as a show of respect for his former club, Liverpool.

Right Midfielder: David Beckham

#5 football team of tattooed players

Country: England

There was no way David Beckham would have been left out of the starting XI. The 38-year-old midfielder is considered as the biggest footballing fashion icon, leading to shirtless photoshoots which help him display the numerous tattoos on his body! Beckham has his three sons’ names tattooed on his back, a portrait of Jesus on his chest and a six-inch tattoo of Victoria written in Hindi on his left inner arm.


Right Centre-midfielder: Stephen Ireland

#11 football team of tattooed players

Country: IrelandClub: Stoke City

Although not the most famous footballer, Stephen Ireland has a pair of giant wings on his back. Currently playing for Stoke City, the Irish midfielder has a right sleeve filled with tattoos too.


Left Centre-midfielder: Raul Meireles

#6 football team of tattooed players

Country: PortugalClub: Fenerbahçe

The former Chelsea midfielder has a Chinese-style dragon full of vibrant colours and flair on his back and both the sleeves.


Left Midfielder: Kevin-Prince Boateng

#7 football team of tattooed players

Country: GhanaClub: Schalke 04

The German-Ghanaian footballer has filled his right sleeve full of tattoos and the left sleeve partially. The Schalke attacker has inked his chest and neck as well.

Left Forward: Ezequiel Lavezzi

#8 football team of tattooed players

Country: AgrentinaClub: Paris Saint Germain

Unlike other footballers, Lavezzi hasn’t covered his sleeves with ink. He still has a lot of tattoos including a gun, a badge of local football club Rosario Central, which he supported as a youngster, and a Maradona tattoo.


Centre Forward: Zlatan Ibrahimovic

#9 football team of tattooed players

Country: SwedenClub: Paris Saint Germain

There are various reasons for Ibrahimovic’s popularity. The Swedish national team captain, former Barcelona, Inter, AC Milan, Ajax and Juventus player, goal scoring records, frequent ridiculous comments on footballers all around the world and of course, tattoos. Another PSG player joining the list, Zlatan’s tattoo includes his parents’ names, his sons’ names in Arabic and also a saying, “Only God can judge me”.


Right Forward: Djibril Cissé

#10 football team of tattooed players

Country: France

Djibril Cissé’s upper body is literally covered with tattoos. Enough said!


Substitutes/Bench-warmers (Footballers who have tattooed their body comparatively less):

Substitute:  football team of tattooed players

Dani Alves, Tim Cahill, Wesley Sneijder, Clint Dempsey, Jermaine Pennant, Marek Hamšík, Daniele De Rossi

Manager/First Team Coach: Paolo Di Canio

Manager: football team of tattooed players

The newly appointed Sunderland manager, Paolo Di Canio, is amongst the few managers in football to get a tattoo. Popular for his code of conduct towards his players and fans, the Italian has several tattoos including a West Ham United tattoo on his left upper arm, a tattoo of his father on his chest and the Latin word ‘Dux’ on his right biceps meaning ‘leader’.

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Edited by Staff Editor