Marcos Rojo and the 10 Most Tattooed Players in World Football (2024)

Manchester United have bolstered their defensive ranks with Marcos Rojo, which means the Premier League welcomes another tattoo aficionado.

The Daily Mail assert that the Argentinean is the Red Devils' most inked player of all time—and they might be right. The 24-year-old has two full sleeves, a Copa Libertadores trophy on his ribcage, the phrase "For My Family" written on his chest and the words "Pride" and "Glory" etched above his knees.

Rojo's dedication to the needle inspires this collection of football's most tattooed stars...

Liverpool defender Daniel Agger has so much ink that he makes Michael Scofield from Prison Break's collection look pretty modest by comparison.

The great Dane has numerous Viking tattoos on his upper torso, a graveyard scene covering his entire back and a Latin phrase that reads: "Death is certain, its hour is uncertain." How morbid.

Agger is actually a qualified tattoo artist, who won the hearts of the Kop faithful by getting YNWA etched on his knuckles.

Dani Agger isn't the only Liverpool defender who has a loyalty card at the tattoo parlour. Martin Skrtel has two full sleeves of tatts, a giant angel on his back and the Latin phrase "Veni Vidi Vici" on the side of his ribcage. It means "I came. I saw, I conquered."

The Lord of the Manor of Frodsham, better known as Djibril Cisse, has virtually no room left on his torso for additional tattoos.

The Bastia striker has upwards of 40 tattoos on his upper body and there's a definite feline motif running through his designs: The 33-year-old has paw prints on his right shoulder and a leopard print design running down his left arm.

Fenerbahce midfielder Raul Meireles seems to spend almost as much time in the tattoo parlour as he does on the football field.

While training with Portugal at the World Cup, Meirelesshowed off his latest work-in-progress, a full sleeve covering his right leg. The 31-year-old is undoubtedly a tough guy, but the rose design on his kneecap must have made him wince when it was being applied.

Thanks to his tendency to wear long-sleeved shirts on the field, one would never know that Tim Howard has a vast tattoo collection by watching him play in goal for Everton.

Howard's tattoo collection includesa Superman logo, dragons, crucifixes, images of his two children and the Chinese characters for God, family, faith, health and happiness.

Paris Saint-Germain forward Ezequiel Lavezzi doesn't just spend his time away from the field taking explicit selfies with his lady friends, he's also a regular patron at the tattoo parlour.

The Argentinean has a menacing tribal design that incongruently merges into flowers on his right arm,anda rosary and image of Diego Maradona on his ribcage.

Lavezzi's most notable tattoo, however, might be the pistol that sits on his right hip, giving the impression that he has a weapon tucked into his shorts.

Sergio Ramos' increase in tattoos appears to be directly proportional to his acquisition of red cards.

The Real Madrid defender has added to his ink collection many times in the past decade, gradually filling up the space on his arms with religious iconography and a Native Indian dreamcatcher.

After he won the World Cup in 2010, he had an image of the trophy etched onto his right leg. Now that he has a European Cup to his name, that trophy has been added to his left leg.

Schalke midfielder Kevin-Prince Boateng has plenty of interesting tattoo designs covering his chest, arms and neck.

The Ghana international has a map of Africa on his left bicep and a tatt dedicated to former side Milan on his right arm. He has a set of playing cards and some diamonds on his neck, and the phrase "Love vs Pain and Pain vs Love" on his chest.

KPB also has a spider web etched over his left knee, which is a tribute to his recurring knee injury. According to The Telegraph, he reasoned that spiderwebs always come back, just like his ailment.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's towering frame is home to numerous tattoos—or "Zlattoos," as the self-aggrandising Paris Saint-Germain forward would probably refer to them.

The mighty Swede has a large red dragon and a set of playing cards on his right side, the phrase "Only God Can Judge Me" on his left side,the birth dates of his parents and siblings on his wrists, his name in Arabic on his right bicep and various epithets in various languages elsewhere.

There are plenty of incongruous ideologies in his tattoo canon—he is essentially treating his skin as a giant Pinterest wall for random things he likes.

Nigel De Jong might just be the owner of the most beautifully designed tattoos in world football.

The menacing Milan midfielder's upper body and arms are covered in impressively intricate tribal patterns. They even extend over his neck and his hands.