ADORNING THE BOOT-IFUL GAME
Paraguayan artist shoots to worldwide fame after megastar Messi champions her unique footwear designs
A young Lionel Messi dribbles a soccer ball or poses for a photograph with his grandmother. As an adult, he embraces his children, kisses his wife, or points two fingers to the sky in memory of his grandmother after scoring a goal for Argentina.
The hand-painted images on a pair of soccer boots by a young Paraguayan artist relive some of the most memorable moments in the life and career of the man widely considered the best player of his generation. Artist Lilian Cantero sent the boots to Messi as a gift to his club, Barcelona, and he recently displayed them in a photo in a social-media post that went viral. Now, she is being swamped by orders for her work from all over the world.
