WORLD CUP STARS SHOW OFF THEIR TATTOOS

Mario Balotelli

Upon scoring his first goal of the Premiere League season back in 2012, Italian striker Mario Balotelli celebrated by getting the words of Genghis Khan tattooed on the left side of his chest: "I am the punishment of God. If you had not committed great sin, God would not have sent A punishment like me upon you." (Getty Images)

Tim Howard

Tim Howard is the most decorated player on the US team... literally. The ink on Howard's body ranges from portraits of his kids to a Superman logo, and an outline of the state of New Jersey. There are also plenty more that can be seen on his PETA ad, which he shared with his fans via Instagram. (Getty Images/Instagram)

Neymar

Brazilian superstar Neymar has tattoos on the back of his neck, his finger, and parts of his arm. Here you can see the chest tattoo he has, which translates to "Every weapon... and every language... ball which is his... which isn't his." (Getty Images/Instagram)

Jermaine Jones

Like his teammate Tim Howard, Jones treats his body like a canvas and has covered it with numerous tattoos including the "L-A" in the center of his chest, the names of his children and wife and, naturally, the American flag. (Getty Images/Instagram)

Clint Dempsey

Trying to catch up to his fellow teammates is Clint Dempsey, who has a tattoo on his elbow outlining the state of Texas, an homage to where he grew up. He also sports other tattoos along that same arm, including one portrait of a warrior. (Getty Images)

                                                                                    

Sergio Ramos

Spain's Sergio Ramos can be seen sporting two tattoos on the back of each calf; the Champions League trophy he won recently, and the World Cup trophy he won with Spain in 2010. (Getty Images)

Wayne Rooney

While Wayne Rooney's most iconic tattoo is a celtic cross with "Colleen" (his wife's name) written above it, just on the other side on his left upper arm is a tattoo of the English flag with the caption, "English and Proud." (Getty Images/Instagram)

Kevin-Prince Boateng

The brother of German national player Jerome Boateng, Kevin-Prince is representing the country of Ghana and has the outline of the African continent among his collection of tattoos. (Getty Images)

Dani Alves

Brazil star Davi Alves's tattoos are all over his body, including an homage to his son written across the top of his chest. (Getty Images/Instagram)

Olivier Giroud

France's Olivier Giroud has this very famous tattoo on his arm which says, "dominus regit me et nihil mihi deerit," and means, "The lord is my shepherd; I shall not want" in Latin. He has other tattoos which are also in Latin and Bible-based. "I am very religious and these tattoos have a meaning," he has stated. "I don't cross myself at the beginning of the matches but I say a little prayer." (REUTERS/Pascal Rossignol)

Jack Wilshere

The English player has a very detailed arm sleeve that includes a handwritten "family" just above his elbow. Wilshere was inspired to get his tattoos by none other than David Beckham. (Getty Images/Reuters)

Wesley Sneijder

Dutch player Wesley Sneijder has multiple tattoos on his body including a tribute to his Champions league trophy and another to his wife, Yolanthe Sneijder-Cabau. Pictured here are some of his sleeves tattoos, including his jersey number, 10, wrapped around his wrist. (Getty Images)

Sergio Agüero

The Argentine player has his son Benjamin's name tattooed on the inside part of his left arm. He also sports another tattoo on the inside of his right arm, which goes to show that even athletes have a nerdy side; It spells "Kun Aguero" in Elvish script, a language from J.R.R Tolkien's "Lord of the Rings". (Getty Images)