<
        >

          Man City's Otamendi loves TV tattoos but these guys prefer cartoons

          • Chris Wright, Toe Poke writerNov 8, 2019, 10:54 AM

          Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi likes TV shows so much he has them tattooed on his body. Here are some other player favourites.

          Jump to: The best school team ever? | Player dropped for missing penalty

          The Toe Poke Daily is here every day to bring you all the weirdest stories, quirkiest viral content and top trolling that the internet has to offer, all in one place.

          Nicolas Otamendi treated fans to a personal tour of his extensive tattoo collection this week when he bared his torso for all to see following Man City's 1-1 draw against Atalanta in the Champions League.

          As the Argentine defender paraded around the San Siro pitch, we were all given a glimpse into Otamendi's soul, or at least his TV planner.

          Emblazoned across Otamendi's shoulderblades were characters from Breaking Bad, Peaky Blinders and Vikings. Not a bad selection.

          Other footballers with TV themed body art have gone distinctly more cartoon-themed. But here are some of the best.

          1. Alberto Gilardino (Pepper Pig)

          The veteran Italian striker apparently had Peppa inked onto his upper arm at the behest of his young daughter.

          2. Philippe Coutinho (Mickey Mouse)

          First unveiled during his time at Liverpool, Coutinho later revealed he had a tattoo of Mickey while his wife had a matching tattoo of Minnie, supposedly as a gift to their daughter.

          3. Dele Alli (Bam-Bam)

          The Tottenham forward has an image of the classic Flintstones' character on his forearm in reference to his childhood nickname. Dele is short for Bamidele, after all.

          4. Alessandro Diamanti (Olaf)

          The former Watford striker is renowned for his vast array of bodily doodles, which includes an image of Olaf the snowman from Frozen peeking above his right sock.

          5. Daniele de Rossi (Teletubbies)

          He may be the definitive Italian hardman, but that didn't stop De Rossi from having a couple of Teletubbies tattooed on his arm, prancing around a heart that contains his daughter's name.

          6. Neymar (Spiderman and Batman)

          Given that he is a huge fan of classic comic books, it's hardly surprising that Neymar has two of the most famed superheroes of all time bursting through his shoulder blades.

          7. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dragonball Z)

          As of earlier this year, the Arsenal forward has the father and son characters Goku and Gohan from the Japanese anime show inked upon his leg. And did a video to show it happening, evidently in a hotel room.

          Whatever next! All these fully grown men earning millions of pounds and their choice of body art is something you would find on a child's bedroom wall.

          The best school team ever?

          When it comes to school football teams, the current class of UEFA executive masters course students is going to take some beating.

          The team, who all graduated earlier in the week, turned out for a kickabout at UEFA headquarters in Switzerland recently and a rather formidable sight it was too.

          Indeed, the friendly game boasted no less than one Ballon d'Or recipient, a couple of World Cup winners and several other star names with dozens of international caps between them.

          Kaka, Julio Cesar, Florent Malouda, Gaizka Mendieta, John O'Shea, Emile Heskey and 2011 Champions League final referee Victor Kassai all took part in the after-school session, while fellow classmates Didier Drogba and Andrey Arshavin sat out.

          The UEFA course is designed to help train and educate future presidents, CEOs and technical directors of clubs, businesses and national federations.

          Previous alumni include the likes of Rai, Juninho Pernambucano and Eric Abidal, who now all hold sporting and/or technical director roles at Sao Paulo, Lyon and Barcelona respectively.

          Player dropped for missing penalty

          Club Brugge striker Mbaye Diagne has been fined and dropped after he missed a penalty that he was not supposed to take in the Belgian club's 1-0 Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain.

          The striker got up off the turf after being fouled by Thiago Silva in the 74th minute at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday and took the kick himself, instead of designated penalty taker Hans Vanaken. Yet his feeble effort was saved by PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas, which effectively cost his side a valuable point, leaving them with just two points from four matches in Group A.

          The 28-year-old Senegal international has been fined and left out of the squad for Sunday's Belgian league encounter at Antwerp and coach Philippe Clement said he had yet to decide whether Diagne would play for the club in the future.

          "It was a dumb mistake. A mistake that had consequences for the result and we are all very cross about it," he told a news conference on Friday. "This sort of incident leads to emotions and there was a confrontation in the changing room after, but it was verbal and not physical. Diagne realised he made a mistake and did not argue back."

          Clement also told reporters that it was wrong to criticise Vanaken for not insisting on taking the kick.

          "Some have suggested he didn't want to accept the responsibility but he told Diagne not to take the kick," he said. "But when he realised this was not going to happen, he did not want to get into an argument on the biggest stage in the world. I'm proud of the way Hans dealt with the situation." -- Reuters