Barcelona legend Lionel Messi has lookalike in Amsterdam museum
Posted Wednesday, September 28, 2016 by ESPN
Dutch artist Adriaen Van der Werff is remarkably similar to Barcelona's Lionel Messi.
Barcelona and Argentina forward Lionel Messi's lookalike has turned up in Amsterdam -- in a painting in the Rijksmuseum.
Visitors to the museum have noticed an uncanny resemblance between the 29-year-old footballer and a self portrait by the Dutch artist Adriaen Van der Werff.
Van der Werff, who was born close to Rotterdam over 350 years ago in 1659, is a recognised painter, sculptor and architect.
Among his body of work is a self portrait which he painted in 1699 when he was 40 years old -- 11 years older than Messi is currently -- and the parallels with the Barca star cannot be denied.
According to Catalan newspaper Diario Sport, numerous visitors to the Rijksmuseum have joked that Van der Werff may even be Messi's ancestor.
The paper even adds that the painting has led to an increased number of people visiting the museum, intrigued to see first hand if the five-time Ballon d'Or winner's family may have stemmed from the Netherlands three centuries ago.
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