There are various reasons why soccer players have tattoos. Apart from the typical personal reasons why most people get tattoos, they can also serve as reminders of home, motivators, or intimidation tactics. Some tattoos are the result of impulsiveness, especially on nights of excessive partying.
Tattoos are so prevalent among soccer players that those who don’t have tattoos, like Cristiano Ronaldo and Mohamed Salah, are the exceptions. The tattoos can be widely diverse; some make no sense to anyone except the player. Let’s look at why tattoos are so popular among soccer stars.
Table of Contents
- Why Do So Many Soccer Players Have Tattoos?
- Do All Soccer Players Have Tattoos? Should They?
- Conclusion
Why Do So Many Soccer Players Have Tattoos?
There are several reasons why soccer players may choose to have a tattoo or two. The most common reasons are:
Tattoos Can Serve As Reminders Of Home
Professional soccer players often spend a lot of time away from home. Between traveling for away matches, promotional tours, and the World Cup, it’s not strange for some of them to be on the road for almost half the year.
Even more, as clubs from different countries buy players from other countries, they may move to a new country and live there for any number of years.
Like anyone, soccer players miss their homes. Whether their family moves or travels with them or not, sometimes you just miss the place you’re from.
Many soccer players get a tattoo that will remind them of their homes. For example, Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsey has artwork of Caerphilly Castle and various other Welsh landmarks on his leg to remind him of his home in Wales.
Tattoos Can Motivate
Many people get courage and motivation from certain symbols that are valuable to them, and soccer players will often tattoo these symbols on their bodies where they can always see them. These often remind them why they choose to do something, the driving force for giving their all in a game.
Examples are Lionel Messi’s tattoos of his wife’s eyes and a portrait of Christ, as well as David Beckham’s tattoos of his children’s names. When times get tough, as they often do in the demanding world of professional soccer, players can look at their tattoos and remember why they are doing what they do.
Tattoos Can Intimidate
Tattoos have a long history of intimidation. Ancient European nations like the Celts had traditions where their warriors would get tattoos on their faces or other exposed parts of their bodies that were meant to look fierce and intimidate the enemy.
Soccer players, consciously or subconsciously, do the same, though the intimidation is often more psychological than the direct result of the tattoo.
According to some reports, researchers are seeing more and more of a connection between high-scoring soccer players and their number of intimidating tattoos. However, far from their opposition being intimidated by the tattoos, they are intimidated by the players.
First, the tattoo may give the player a psychological advantage. Because they subconsciously believe that the tattoo intimidates their opponent, they act more confidently or take more reckless chances.
In the end, it’s that confidence and recklessness that catches opponents off-guard or intimidates them, not the tattoo. But a placebo can have a powerful effect, and if the soccer player believes it’s because of the tattoo, why not let them believe it if it improves their game?
Some Tattoos Express Personality
Many of us choose tattoos that convey something deeply personal, like a part of our personality, a symbol of who we are. Soccer players are no exception, as they love to tattoo their bodies with things that may have little meaning to anyone else but mean a lot to them.
Examples are religious symbols, children’s handprints, famous quotes, or personal mottos. Caesar’s famous “Veni, Vidi, Vici” has made it onto the bodies of more than one soccer player in history.
The question remains, why do soccer players (or anyone else) find it necessary to get tattoos of such personal things if they aren’t relevant to others at all? The most likely answer is that it’s a form of self-expression, which is a deep psychological need we all have. We may not all express ourselves through tattoos, but soccer players often do.
Some Tattoos Are Purely Impulsive
One of the worst things anyone can do is get a permanent tattoo of something that may not be permanent, and Soccer players often make that mistake.
For example, the adrenalin-fueled rush after winning a game, perhaps combined with celebratory drinks, could lead to a player getting a tattoo of their team or club logo somewhere prominent, signifying their everlasting commitment to that club.
That is until another club makes a better offer, and they start playing for them while proudly displaying their previous club’s badge.
Another example is Landon Donovan, who got a tattoo of a hummingbird to match one on his then-fiancee, Bianca Tajlich. The couple chose hummingbirds because they are said to mate for life, so this symbolized eternal love for them. Unfortunately, they divorced in 2010 and are both stuck with their tattoos.
Do All Soccer Players Have Tattoos? Should They?
Not all soccer players have tattoos, though their reasons vary. Some notable examples of professional soccer stars without tattoos (and their reasons for not getting ink) are:
- Cristiano Ronaldo: He regularly donates blood, so much so that he’s often used as a poster boy for blood donations. The risks of infection from tattoos have led him not to get any tattoos done.
- N’Golo Kante: This French soccer player aims to be the symbol of a humble life. He never gets into trouble, on or off the field, and he never wears or does anything flashy, not even to his hair. Similarly, he has never gotten a tattoo since he feels it will draw too much attention to himself.
- Mohamed Salah: By his own admission, he doesn’t care for hairstyles or tattoos; he’s just in it to play soccer.
- Gareth Bale: This Welsh player is very focused on his family values and his father’s opinion of him, and his father solidly disapproves of tattoos. He never got one because he did not want to disappoint his family.
Many other players have also chosen not to get tattoos, either for religious reasons or simply because they did not want to jump on the bandwagon like most young players do. Whereas many choose to get tattoos as self-expression, these players express themselves by being different and not getting ink.
Teams That Banned Tattoos
Some soccer teams don’t allow any of their players to get tattoos. Notably, the Chinese national soccer team decided not to let any of their players get tattoos to set a good example for society. The Iranian Football Federation made the same choice.
These are not common, though, and currently, most players are free to get any tattoos they wish as long as they aren’t offensive. Despite a news article stating that U.S. Soccer would also be banning players with tattoos, that turned out to be an April Fool joke, and American soccer players can still make a career out of soccer, with or without their tattoos.
Conclusion
Now that you know why so many soccer players have tattoos, you may be interested in finding out why so many soccer players are short or why it’s so popular for them to be skinny rather than have more bulky builds.
