An Iranian student who looks remarkably like Barcelona’s Lionel Messi had to be taken to a nearby police station at the weekend after causing chaos in the city of Hamaden.
The BBC report that Reza Parastesh caused mass hysteria amongst the locals as they tried to get a photograph with who they believed to be the real Messi.
Police are said to have swiftly intervened by impounding the 25-year-old’s car and taking him to the station in a bid to restore order.
It is understood that Reza’s father was the first to recognise the remarkable likeness between his son and the Argentine, and subsequently made him wear the player’s number 10 replica Barcelona shirt.
A Lionel Messi look alike is out on the streets of Tehran, Iran.
It’s not really him…
Things have quickly got out of hand now that Reza has grown a near identical beard to Messi, and having now shot to stardom, the Iranian is said to be fully booked up with media interviews and modelling shoots.
He told AFP: “Now people really see me as the Iranian Messi and want me to mimic everything he does. When I show up somewhere, people are really shocked.
“I’m really happy that seeing me makes them happy and this happiness gives me a lot of energy.”
