Dubai: Sanyo Gutierrez adopts a very aggressive approach that brings out the best in him inside a padel court but off court he comes off as a very shy-natured person.
On Sunday, soon after the Argentine star, partnering Carolina Navarro Bjork, for Jaguars defeated Alejandro Ruiz and Beatriz Gonzalez of Panthers in the opening set of the World Padel League final, he was asked by the courtside anchor about the Lionel Messi autograph tattooed on his left biceps, he just blushed but proudly showed it off to the camera and the crowd. “Yes, a great moment in my life,” he said.
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Memorable day
Gutierrez will never forget that day — April 19, 2019 — when he got to meet his dream idol and football legend Lionel Messi. The meeting took place in the ‘Joan Gamper’ sports city, very close to the Camp Nou stadium.
“It was my wife who surprised me. I got to meet and talk to him [Messi] after training. I asked him to sign me a jersey, and also my arm. I went straight to the tattoo artist after,” said Gutierrez, who was the World No 1 padel player at that time.
“For me, Leo is an example beyond the sporting aspect. I like his professionalism and his work just as much as his ability with the ball,” he added.
Emotional note
Once the tattoo was done, Gutierrez put on an emotional note on his Instagram account. “If I admired you before, now I don’t know what word to use. Thank you for fulfilling my dream @leomessi and if I squeezed you too much in the farewell hug, forgive me, I had to make sure that you are flesh and blood.”
Even Argentina’s professional padel player Ramiro Moyana displayed his love for the football stars after Argentina won the World Cup in Qatar last year. He has tattooed the country’s great heroes on his thigh, Messi and Diego Maradona, along with the Argentine sun on their flag.
