A man in Iran has allegedly slept with 23 women by pretending to be footballer, Lionel Messi because of their uncanny resemblance.
The suspect has denied conning the women into sleeping with him.
Reza Parastesh, who is known as the Iranian Messi, was forced to come forward to deny the allegations on social media after Spanish publication, Marca reported it.
In a video post on Instagram, Parastesh said: “Hi friends, a piece of false news about me is trending on social media with regards to me sleeping with 23 women because they thought I was Lionel Messi. Please do not play with people’s reputation and credibility.
‘We are all aware of the fact that if it actually 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.
“The news is spreading in the Muslim countries and it has been a disaster,” he said.
“I was severely harassed because it released the whole world on me. My family also harassed me, but the people’s attack was more influential,” he said.
Reza, who has an uncanny resemblance to the Argentine superstar, is reported to have started pursuing a career as a Messi look-alike when his dad suggested he put on a Barcelona shirt to see how much he resembled the Argentine.
According to him, he was also encouraged to grow a beard to keep up-to-date with Messi’s look.
