A Messi look-alike living the life of a bachelor eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
An Iranian man, known for his uncanny similarity with Lionel Messi, has had an incredible launch to fame after capitalizing on his similarities with the Argentine.
Initially thrust into the spotlight for his striking physical similarities to the Argentine icon, Reza Parastesh quickly became a viral sensation, attracting attention from social media, as well as local and worldwide media.
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As his fame grew, so did opportunities — with the Iranian being offered multiple deals and interviews.
According to reports, his Messi impersonation all started when his father presented him with a Barcelona shirt, with Parastesh taking it a step further by trimming his hair and grooming his facial hair to mirror the former Barcelona forward, enhancing the resemblance.
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His rise to fame took a dark turn when he was accused of using his fake identity for his romantic life.
Viral: Man from Iran who was accused of 'sleeping with 23 women while impersonating Messi'
Paretesh, now deemed by people as the 'Iranian Messi,' was hit with a huge accusation of using his resemblance to the Inter Miami star as another way of benefiting his personal life, with Parastesh allegedly ‘sleeping with 23 women while impersonating Messi.’
The women who accused the Iranian Messi claimed they wouldn’t have done so if they knew it wasn’t the actual 2022 World Cup winner himself, with Parastesh’s rise to stardom becoming another case of a got-famous-quick story gone wrong.
An Iranian man who happens to look like Lionel Messi has been accused of using Messi’s identity to con women into sleeping with him.
Reza Parastesh, AKA ‘Fake Messi’, has reportedly slept with 23 women, although these women have claimed they wouldn’t have done so if they knew it… pic.twitter.com/QxHPk3Eh2a— BowTiedMara (@BowTiedMara) June 25, 2023
However, it did not take long for Parastesh to refute the accusations made against him, with the then 26-year-old labeling the claims from the women as ‘fake news’ in a video uploaded to his social media.
"A false news story has been trending on social media with regards to me sleeping with 23 women because they thought I was Lionel Messi," Parastesh said on Instagram.
"Please do not play with people's reputation and credibility. We are all aware of the fact that, if it truly happened to anyone, there would be some complaints and it would lead to my prosecution.
“That would be a disaster and a calamity of international proportion. If this news was true, I would be in jail right now… do not believe it, it is not true. I am going to do everything to fight this legally and make sure my name is cleared.”
Authorities would then clear him of any wrongdoing and from the accusations, with Paratesh receiving offers for modeling contracts and interviews despite the almost career-ending mix-up.
In Iran, adultery committed by married individuals is punishable by death, while fornication by unmarried individuals is punishable by death after the fourth offense.
