“Iranian Messi” lookalike fully booked for interviews, lands modelling deals

“Iranian Messi” lookalike fully booked for interviews, lands modelling deals
The "Iranian Messi" doppelganger says he is learning a few football tricks so he can better impersonate the soccer superstar.
By bne IntelliNews May 9, 2017

Reza Parastesh, a Lionel Messi lookalike who has become known as the “Iranian Messi”, is fully booked with media interviews and has even landed modelling contracts, the BBC reported on May 9.

All the fuss began a few months ago when the 25-year-old student’s dad made him pose in a number 10 Barcelona football shirt. Such was the resemblance to the soccer superstar that Parastesh reportedly started cutting his hair and grooming his beard in the style of the Argentina forward.

Over the past weekend, so many people in the city of Hamadan, northwestern Iraq, were chasing a picture with Parastesh that police took him to the station and impounded his car to quell the chaos.

He told AFP: "Now people really see me as the Iranian Messi and want me to mimic everything he does. When I show up somewhere, people are really shocked. I'm really happy that seeing me makes them happy and this happiness gives me a lot of energy."

Next up, he says, is learning some football tricks so he can play the lookalike role even better.

Related Articles

Bank Melli Iran allowed to resume Iraq operations

Bank Melli Iran (BMI) has been given the go-ahead to resume its operations in Iraq by the Central Bank of Iraq, as reported by IBENA on February 9. This decision comes after a temporary suspension of ... more

Iran, Uzbekistan set to sign transport cooperation agreement soon

Iran and Uzbekistan plan to sign a comprehensive transport cooperation document in the near future, according to Iran's Minister of Roads and Urban Development Mehrdad Bazrpash, IRIB News reported on ... more

Iranian Judiciary says assets of jailed billionaire recovered from abroad

Billions of dollars in assets belonging to Iranian billionaire Babak Zanjani jailed for corruption, have been transferred to Iran from an unnamed third country, judiciary-linked Mizan News ... more

Dismiss