Lionel Messi is known for many things - his superhuman ability on the pitch, his humble nature off of it and his status as one of the GOATs of football.
The Argentina forward is also known to sport a ginger beard, despite having dark hair.
So why is Messi able to grow a ginger beard even though he is brown-haired? Is it just merely one of his superhuman abilities? Goal takes a look.
Why does Lionel Messi sport a ginger beard?
No, Messi doesn't dye his hair artificially red in his free time.
Even though the Barcelona superstar is naturally a brunette, his red beard - which differs from the colour on his head - is a result of his unique set of genes.
Not all brown-haired people are capable of growing ginger beards. But in the case of Messi, and a few others, the ginger beard is due to having one set of the redhead gene from just one parent.
Because the colour of one's hair is set by the pigments in the hair, each person's individual DNA code determines the pigment of the hair colour - and the amount of that hair colour.
Those who are white possess two different hair colour pigments: black and red.
Dark-haired white people have black pigment in their hair, while blondes have a smaller number of black pigment. Full redheads have just red pigments.
So in the case of Messi, there is one gene in particular - MC1R - that plays a huge part in determining the presence of red hair in brunettes.
Just one of the mutated MC1R genes is needed for the red hair to grow on other parts of the body - such as the beard and face.
The one mutated MC1R gene prevents less black pigment from growing and allows more red on the body.
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It doesn't happen for just everyone, and so those who have predominantly brown hair but sport ginger beards are one of a special few!
Messi isn't the only footballer to have a ginger beard.
Xabi Alonso is another entrant in the ginger-bearded footballer hall of fame, along with fellow Spaniard Juan Mata.