What’s it like to be soccer superstar Lionel Messi? Iranian Reza Parastesh is rapidly finding out.
The 25-year old student looks exactly like the Barcelona forward — so much so that he’s inundated with attention from fans and the media ever since he started cutting his hair and trimming his beard in the same style as the Argentine.
Put Parastesh in a Barcelona shirt, and it’s impossible to tell one from the other.
As well as smiling for all those selfies with his new found fans and dealing with countless media requests, Parastesh’s similarity in looks to Messi has also caused a bit of tension with his father in the past.
“After Messi scored a goal against Iran (in the World Cup 2014), my Dad called me and said: “Don’t come back home tonight!’ Parastesh told AFP news agency.
“I was confused at first but then my Dad asked me: ‘Why did you score a goal against Iran?’
“I said: ‘But that wasn’t me!’ He just responded that he was very furious, and said: “Just don’t come back tonight.'”
See for yourself in the video at the top of the page if you can can spot the difference between Parastesh and Messi.
