Out of Play
Lionel Messi reveals incredible new boots where each hand-painted picture tells a story of his life
LIONEL MESSI reveals these incredible one-off boots – where every hand-drawn image tells a story of his remarkable life.
The Barcelona superstar was last month seen banging his footwear together and throwing them into the crowd.
But it is unlikely he will be doing the same with these unique boots, sent to him by a fan.
Complete with trademark adidas stripes and his No 10 squad number, touching polaroid-style paintings cover sides of the shoes.
On the left foot – just below where Messi has tattooed reminders of his loved ones – are tributes to his family.
Near the heel reads the name of his wife, Antonella, shortened to Anto.
Beneath her sit the names of Messi’s two sons, Thiago, five, and Mateo, two.
On the other side of the heel is an image of Messi kissing Anto, and below that one with him alongside Thiago plus one of a young Messi next to mother Celia Maria Cuccittini.
On the the inside of the right boot are landmark moments of the five-time Ballon d’Or winner’s career.
There is the iconic shirt-holding celebration he carried out last April after scoring the last-gasp winner in a 3-2 victory over Real Madrid at the Bernabeu.
Next to that is a black and white scene with Messi wearing the No 30 squad number – the first number he was given upon breaking into the Barca first team.
To the left lies a depiction of Messi jumping on the back of former Blaugrana team-mate Ronaldinho back in May 2005.
Finally there is an image of something that has proved somewhat of a rarity in his fabled career: a header.
The right boot is dominated by the red and blue colours of Barcelona while the left has blue and white overtones synonymous with his native Argentina.
The boots were made by a person who runs the Instagram account lilicanteropy.