On this week’s episode of Fandom Art, Check out this incredible viral portrait of the PSG superstar and seven-time Ballon d’Or winner, by a popular 20-year-old Nigerian artist.
Lionel Messi is widely regarded as the greatest footballer of his generation and perhaps all time.
The immaculate Argentine is also unarguably the greatest playmaker football has ever seen.
The 35-year-old is a serial record-breaker, having won six European Golden Shoes, the most by a South American player, and four UEFA Champions League titles for which he holds the record for the most teams scored against (39), has the most goals by a player for a single club (Barcelona).
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner has been crowned Argentina’s player of the year a record 14 times, most international goals by a male player (117), and most goals (474), most hattricks (36), and assists (192) in La Liga.
He is one of the few players to have made over 1000 professional career appearances and has scored over 780 official senior career goals for club and country.
In August 2021, Messi shocked the footballing world when he completed a switch to Paris St Germain in a free transfer upon his contract expiry with Barcelona, with negotiations on a new deal complicated due to financial issues at the Catalan club.
Lionel Messi Fan Art by a 22-year-old Nigerian Student
For all his incredible achievements, it’s no surprise how much of an influence he has been to so many individuals and fans across the globe including one very talented pencil artist.
Deborah is a 20-year-old Lagos-state-based pencil artist, who creates incredible drawings with charcoal pencils.
Hailing from Asaba, Delta State, Deborah completed her national diploma program in Fine Arts and the prestigious Yaba College of Technology, Lagos State.
Most of her works have since gone viral on her social media, including her impressive drawing of American rapper Cardi B, which Cardi personally received when she visited Nigeria in 2020.
However, her spectacular charcoal art of Lionel Messi has already gone viral on social media, and Pulse Sports Nigeria caught up with her to get the inspiration behind his amazing piece.
What club do you support?
I support Paris St Germain because of Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe.
Tell us briefly about your drawing.
I took interest in drawing Messi because of the way people praise him and also the way my classmates in secondary school adored him.
On many occasions, I watched how he scores his goals, and I was amazed.
I made my first artwork of him in 2017, then last year I decided to draw him again and I’m glad it came out so well.
What inspired this particular drawing?
I have always been a fan of Messi right from when he was in Barca.
So, I was scrolling through the Pinterest app, and I saw the reference picture of Messi. It was looking so sharp and detailed, and I love working on detailed pictures. So, I decided to give it a try.
How would you describe Lionel Messi in your own words?
Greatest Of All Time!
How long have you been drawing?
I started drawing at the age of four (4), but I started taking it seriously in 2016.
What does Art mean to you?
Art is everything to me. I can decide to stay awake all night drawing and I won’t feel it. Most times I don’t get to eat because I’m always satisfied while drawing.
How long did it take you to complete this particular piece?
It took me four (4) days to complete this artwork.
What footballer/sports athlete do you hope to meet someday?
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo.
What’s your biggest challenge as an artist living in Nigeria?
Actually, it’s just selling my artwork and getting people to patronize as well as getting recognition.
Also, not all art materials are in some art stores in Nigeria. There are actually some art materials that they don’t have in Nigeria.
Pulse
