Tattoo Survey + Full Results
An August 2019 survey of 2,000 UK sports fans saw Sergio Ramos’ finger tattoos voted as the worst among sportsmen.
The poll also ranked ink from other male athletes, with Mike Tyson’s infamous tribal face tattoo coming second on the list overall. Surprisingly, Tyson’s tatt is popular enough amongst sports fans to land him on the list of the 20 best tattoos too. Raheem Sterling’s machine gun leg tattoo fueled tabloid outrage in May 2018, so it’s somewhat unsurprising to see his ink rank highly, coming in at fifth, with Alessandro Diamanti and Jay Bothroyd claiming third and fourth spots respectively.
On the other end of the spectrum, ‘Goldenballs’ himself – David Beckham – took home the trophy for best sporting tattoo, according to fans. Lewis Hamilton’s elaborate artwork saw him finish second place on the podium, while the outline of Africa inked on Anthony Joshua’s shoulder took home the bronze. Barcelona legend Lionel Messi came fourth on the list, despite undergoing a cover-up job on his magical left peg.
The study was commissioned by Compare.bet, whose spokesman said: “It’s unusual nowadays for a modern athlete not to have any tattoos.”
“One of the most famous is Cristiano Ronaldo, who supposedly doesn’t have any because he gives blood so often.”
“But of course, with so many sports stars covered in ink, some of them are bound to be more memorable – for better or worse – than others.”
The ultimate quiz for sports enthusiasts has also been created, testing fans’ knowledge on whether they know their idols from their ink.
Compare.bet’s spokesman added: “With so many athletes having tattoos, it can sometimes even be hard to work out whose is whose. We’ve created a quiz to test people’s knowledge of sporting ink, and some of them are much harder than you’d think.”
TOP 20 WORST TATTOOS
- Sergio Ramos
- Mike Tyson
- Alessandro Diamanti
- Jay Bothroyd
- Raheem Sterling
- Andres D’Alessandro
- Tim Howard
- Nile Ranger
- Conor McGregor
- Daniel Agger
- David Beckham
- Damian Delaney
- Leroy Sane
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Artur Boruc
- Wayne Rooney
- Lionel Messi
- Stephen Ireland
- Nigel De Jong
- Dele Alli
…AND THE BEST
- David Beckham
- Lewis Hamilton
- Anthony Joshua
- Lionel Messi
- Conor McGregor
- Leroy Sane
- Daniel Agger
- Nigel De Jong
- Zlatan Ibrahimovic
- Wayne Rooney
- Mike Tyson
- Greg Rutherford
- Stephen Ireland
- Tim Howard
- Raheem Sterling
- Dele Alli
- Sergio Ramos
- Ezequiel Lavezzi
- Alessandro Diamanti
- John Stones
1. Which of these current or former athletes do you think has the BEST tattoos? Select as many as you like
| Name | % |
|---|---|
| Alessandro Diamanti | 4.05 |
| Andres D’Alessandro | 2.35 |
| Anthony Joshua | 10.45 |
| Artur Boruc | 2.9 |
| Conor McGregor | 8.45 |
| Damian Delaney | 3.45 |
| Daniel Agger | 7 |
| David Beckham | 21 |
| Leroy Sane | 8.35 |
| John Stones | 3.85 |
| Jay Bothroyd | 2.95 |
| Greg Rutherford | 5.05 |
| Ezequiel Lavezzi | 4.1 |
| Dele Alli | 4.55 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 10.75 |
| Lionel Messi | 10.05 |
| Marco Materazzi | 2.5 |
| Mike Tyson | 5.3 |
| Nigel De Jong | 4.05 |
| Nile Ranger | 1.55 |
| Stephen Curry | 3.35 |
| Sergio Ramos | 4.15 |
| Ryan Mason | 3.8 |
| Raheem Sterling | 4.65 |
| Stephen Ireland | 5.05 |
| Tim Howard | 4.8 |
| Wayne Rooney | 5.45 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 5.55 |
| None of the above | 40.1 |
2. Which of these current or former athletes do you think has the WORST tattoos? Select as many as you like
| Name | % |
|---|---|
| Alessandro Diamanti | 20.65 |
| Andres D’Alessandro | 17.05 |
| Anthony Joshua | 8.15 |
| Artur Boruc | 10.75 |
| Conor McGregor | 13.20 |
| Damian Delaney | 11.25 |
| Daniel Agger | 12.20 |
| David Beckham | 11.35 |
| Leroy Sane | 11.10 |
| John Stones | 8.25 |
| Jay Bothroyd | 20.45 |
| Greg Rutherford | 7.90 |
| Ezequiel Lavezzi | 7.90 |
| Dele Alli | 8.90 |
| Lewis Hamilton | 8.50 |
| Lionel Messi | 9.55 |
| Marco Materazzi | 8.05 |
| Mike Tyson | 23.60 |
| Nigel De Jong | 9.30 |
| Nile Ranger | 13.55 |
| Stephen Curry | 6.50 |
| Sergio Ramos | 28.80 |
| Ryan Mason | 8.25 |
| Raheem Sterling | 17.65 |
| Stephen Ireland | 9.40 |
| Tim Howard | 16.55 |
| Wayne Rooney | 9.95 |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic | 10.95 |
| None of the above | 19.70 |
3. Do you think it’s ‘the norm’ now for athletes to have tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, definitely | 27.40 |
| Yes, somewhat | 50.55 |
| No | 22.05 |
4. Do you have tattoos currently?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, multiple | 13.90 |
| Yes, one | 11.35 |
| No | 74.75 |
5. Have you ever got a tattoo based on the design of one an athlete has?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, many times | 12.67 |
| Yes, once or twice | 14.06 |
| No | 73.27 |
6. Do you respect an athlete more if they DON’T have tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, lots | 25.50 |
| Yes, a bit | 22.75 |
| No | 51.75 |
7. Why do you think athletes tend to get so many tattoos? Select all that apply
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| They have too much time on their hands | 24.10 |
| They have too much money | 41.60 |
| They get bored easily | 18.25 |
| They see others doing it and want to copy them | 33.80 |
| They have more experiences to remember, therefore want to commemorate these with tattoos | 13.15 |
| It’s a way of showing off | 49.65 |
| None of the above | 17.55 |
8. What do you think is fine for an athlete to get a tattoo of?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Their mum’s name | 27.70 |
| Their own name | 15.95 |
| Their kit/squad number | 22.35 |
| Their own face | 8.55 |
| Their team’s logo | 23.50 |
| An iconic moment from their career | 32.00 |
| A religious script | 21.30 |
| Their partner’s name/face | 24.60 |
| Their child’s name/face | 34.65 |
| Their Instagram or Twitter handle | 6.70 |
| A gun | 4.05 |
| None of the above | 40.05 |
9. What do you think athletes should NEVER have tattoos of?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Their mum’s name | 12.70 |
| Their own name | 22.75 |
| Their kit/squad number | 14.95 |
| Their own face | 33.20 |
| Their team’s logo | 17.45 |
| An iconic moment from their career | 9.75 |
| A religious script | 21.60 |
| Their partner’s name/face | 20.00 |
| Their child’s name/face | 14.20 |
| Their Instagram or Twitter handle | 31.35 |
| A gun | 57.65 |
| None of the above | 22.05 |
10. Where do you think is the worst place for an athlete to have a tattoo?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Foot | 1.15 |
| Leg | 1.95 |
| Crotch | 11.40 |
| Hip | 0.80 |
| Stomach | 2.00 |
| Chest | 1.05 |
| Shoulder | 1.25 |
| Arm | 1.20 |
| Hand | 2.35 |
| Neck | 4.90 |
| Face | 50.80 |
| Backside | 3.45 |
| None of the above | 17.70 |
11. If you were an athlete, would you have lots of tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes | 8.15 |
| No | 71.90 |
| Not sure | 19.95 |
12. Which sport do you think has players with the worst tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Football | 53.45 |
| Rugby | 6.30 |
| American football | 9.00 |
| Basketball | 6.70 |
| Hockey | 2.65 |
| Cricket | 3.10 |
| Tennis | 2.35 |
| Athletics | 5.75 |
| Darts | 11.05 |
| Formula One | 3.50 |
| Fishing | 3.05 |
| None of the above | 28.40 |
13. How many tattoos would you have if you were a professional athlete?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| 0 | 1.23 |
| 1 – 3 | 6.13 |
| 4 – 6 | 13.50 |
| 7 – 10 | 20.86 |
| 11 – 13 | 7.36 |
| 14-16 | 9.20 |
| 17-20 | 7.98 |
| 21-23 | 3.68 |
| 24-26 | 4.29 |
| 27-30 | 3.68 |
| 31-33 | 0.61 |
| 34-36 | 0.61 |
| 37-40 | 1.23 |
| 41-43 | 0.61 |
| 44-46 | 0.61 |
| 47-50 | 1.23 |
| 51+ | 1.84 |
| I don’t know | 15.34 |
| Average | 14.4 |
14. Do you think professional athletes with lots of tattoos will regret them when they’re old?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, definitely | 35.55 |
| Yes, somewhat | 41.95 |
| No | 22.50 |
15. On balance, do you like athletes more when they have tattoos, or no tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Tattoos | 5.75 |
| No tattoos | 46.50 |
| Neither/both the same | 47.75 |
16. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? ‘I think professional athletes get paid too much’
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 42.25 |
| Somewhat agree | 29.70 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 23.35 |
| Somewhat disagree | 2.70 |
| Strongly disagree | 2.00 |
17. How much do you agree or disagree with the following statement? ‘Professional athletes have a tendency to overdo it with tattoos.’
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 38.70 |
| Somewhat agree | 31.55 |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 25.85 |
| Somewhat disagree | 2.45 |
| Strongly disagree | 1.45 |
18. Have you ever liked a footballer or other athlete less after they got loads of tattoos?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes, lots | 12.60 |
| Yes, one or two | 20.30 |
| No | 67.10 |
19. Do you think there should be a limit on what, or how many, tattoos athletes should be allowed?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| Yes | 28.60 |
| No | 71.40 |
20. Do you think athletes getting tattoos is a trend which will become more or less popular, or stay the same?
| Choice | % |
|---|---|
| It will become more popular | 16.40 |
| It will stay the same | 33.55 |
| It will become less popular | 25.75 |
| I don’t know | 24.30 |
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Compare.bet's online gambling content experts helped write, edit and check this page:
Alan has three years of writing experience and an MA in English Literature, with bylines at These Football Times and 90Min as well as extensive coverage of all things sports betting and online casino.