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Barcelona superstar spotted in ancient painting

Visitors of the  Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam noticed a painting of a man bearing an uncanny resemblance to the Argentinean, in a supposed self portrait drawn by  Dutch artist Adriaen Van der Werff.

​Barcelona star Lionel Messi seems to pop up everywhere during games, but it would seem that the attacker also has a habit of appearing unexpectedly even when he isn't playing football.

Van der Werff was born near Rotterdam in 1659, over 350 years ago, and was a  recognised painter, sculptor and architect.

It is said that he was 40 years old when he made this work of art, but the likeness to the now 29-year-old Messi is very apparent.

Spanish paper  ​Dario Sport  report that several visitors have jokingly claimed Van der Werff must be Messi's ancestor, and that visits to the museum have spiked as a result of the discovery - apparently, art lovers are flocking in from high and wide to see if the current superstar really has his roots in Holland.

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Hmmm...

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