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Jose Mourinho, Eden Hazard and Nathaniel Clyne… they’ve all been tattooed by and shared ‘banter’ with Chelsea fan Scott Maclaren
FOOTBALLERS just love getting tattoos, and one London tattoo shop can boast some of the most exclusive customers in the game.
Fulham Tattoo Centre owner Scott Maclaren loves inking Premier League footballers and boasts an impressive client list.
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The Chelsea fan, who runs a studio minutes away from Stamford Bridge, has designed tattoos for Jose Mourinho, Eden Hazard, Morgan Schneiderlin, Nathaniel Clyne and many others.
He took over the business 10-years ago from his dad Terry and uncle Gary, who first opened the doors for the famed west London parlour in 1976.
But it was back in the late 90s that Fulham Tattoo Centre was put on the map when the Beckhams dropped by bringing a flurry of paparazzi with them.
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Then, former Blues stars Jody Morris and Eddie Newton became regulars, and by word of mouth it became the go-to spot for Chelsea's finest.
In an interview with SunSport, Scott, 30, shared his experiences he's had tattooing the Premier League's biggest names.
The Londoner revealed how it came about Mourinho chose him to ink his wife and kids' nicknames on his wrist, and why he refused to ink one England international.
Scott divulged joking with midfield playmaker Hazard about moving to Real Madrid, as well as watched footy with him.
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And spare a thought for a minicab driver who once had to wait six hours for Schneiderlin to get work done, only to have to drive him back to Southampton straight after!
We also roped Scott into giving our picture editor Joel Fox a tattoo on the house.
Scott told us: "Over the years we've built up a good relationship with Chelsea.
"We've been lucky to have tattooed Hazard, Mourinho, Filipe Luis, Gael Kakuta, Eddie Newton and Jody Morris.
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"Before that, and what put this shop on the map, we had the Beckhams come in. A picture of the shop was taken and it just blew up.
"Nathaniel Clyne also comes in a lot, even though he's at Liverpool now, and we've done his arms and worked on his chest.
"They trust us, we don't expose them, we put the football on the TV for them and they just come in like any other customer.
"They don't ask us to close the shop for them, they don't want special treatment. They normally just walk in.
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"And it's nice to be fair, because most people round here are all Chelsea fans.
"So when they see Hazard or Mourinho in the shop they love it. The locals pop in, get a picture or autograph and the footballers are happy to do it."
Cheeky Scott blagged his way into the tattoo business at 19-years-old after his dad repeatedly tried to dissuade him from the job.
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Father Terry wanted his son to "use his brain" instead of a tattoo gun, but Scott had other ideas.
"My dad didn't want to teach me at first, he said go and use your brain and do something productive," he said.
"I wanted to be a footballer, I played with Chelsea from 6-years-old to 9-years-old and then I played with Fulham till I was 14.
"When that didn't quite work, I asked my dad if he could teach me how to tattoo.
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"He still wouldn't budge, so I did mortgage and investments at a bank.
"I was still coming into the shop and working reception though.
"Then, when I was 19-years-old, I was in the shop alone and I asked a friend of mine if he wanted to get a tattoo done because all my dad's equipment was laid out.
Sun Reporter Joel Fox visits Scott Maclaren who is a tattoo artist to the Premier League Stars
"He told me he couldn't afford it, but I said I'd give it for him for free.
"My mate didn't believe I could do it, but I told him I was the nuts and he believed me!
"I done one, put a stencil on, it was horrendous. No one picks up a tattoo gun and is brilliant the first time.
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"And that was it -- I blagged it. I did all my mates' tattoos, then went back to my dad and showed the pictures of what I'd done and he was shocked.
"After that, he said he would teach me, but there was one stipulation... he didn't want me getting any tattoos, and to this day I haven't.
"His reasoning for that was that before you know the art of tattooing, what you like as you get older, you won't like 5-10 years down the line. And he's right."
Meanwhile, back in the studio, our Joel is wincing in pain as a stencil is slowly tattooed onto his bare skin.
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When asked how he's doing he sheepishly tell us, "I'm alright. It feels like sunburn though."
Upon returning to Stamford Bridge for his second spell in 2013, Mourinho wanted to ink the nicknames of his wife Matilde Faria and children Matilde and Jose Mario Jr. on his left wrist.
How he came to Scott was in fortuitous circumstances.
Scott said: "I got a call saying can Jose come in for a tattoo.
"Basically, one of my good friend's dad and son are both groundsmen at Chelsea.
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"When you go for preseason, you have to take all the balls you're going to use that season to practice with you, so you can get use to them.
"Chelsea were on tour in the US, and the ball boy forgot to take them out to America.
"So Jose called the groundsman, asking if his son can bring out the balls and spend a couple of days with the team.
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"As a treat, Jose also said he can buy anything at the airport he wants -- they'll cover the cost.
"So, when my mate, who I have given many tattoos, got there he got in a lift with Jose who asked him, 'Where did you get your tattoos done?'
"He told Jose about the shop, said a lot of the boys get work done there and Jose immediately replied, 'Book me in!'"
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Back in the parlour and The Sun man Joel appears at ease with the pain now as shading is applied -- reading the paper for good measure.
He does tell us, however, that he cheated by applying some skin numbing cream to the area beforehand.
Eden Hazard is also one of Scott's favourite clients, and the artist recalled watching a Man United game with the Chelsea ace who was getting a tat.
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"The one thing for me is I love football," Scott explained.
"When Eden Hazard came in recently, I put the Man United game on.
"To be fair to Eden he's got quite good banter. It was cool to see him talk about football like anyone would with their friends at home.
"It was just great to hear a top, top footballer talking about the game while watching it with him."
During his session with Hazard, Scott also managed to quash transfer rumours linking the Belgium international to Bernabeu giants Real.
Scott said: "Eden talks openly about football, managers... I asked him, and it was right about when the Real Madrid transfer story was breaking, whether he was going to sign for them.
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"It started when he was talking about the kit we were going to be wearing the next season.
"He was asking the kit-man, who was with him, if they were going to wear their new Nike kit for the final game of the season.
"I overheard that and asked him if that meant he was staying, because he was talking about next year's kit.
"He burst out laughing and gave me a wry smile."
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Of Hazard, Scott added, "Hazard did well with the pain too. It was a long session in one area, and he's only got a couple of little tattoos, but he took it well."
In the meantime, our Joel has taken a Lucozade break to psyche himself up for the last part of his design.
"Now, I've started and I'm halfway there I can't stop now," he barks from his chair.
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Liverpool fullback Clyne is another customer that frequently comes through Fulham Tattoo Centre's door.
Scott has personally tattooed the England defender on several occasions, on his arms and chest, but remembered a time he declined his business because he didn't like Clyne's tattoo idea.
"Nathaniel wanted a baby in a nappy, holding a football.
"We was like, 'mate, we can't do that on you,' so he went and got it somewhere else.
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"We wanted to do it for him, we did a few drawings and he wanted the baby to look like him, but it just looked like a bald little person and I wasn't happy.
"It was terrible. That was the only time we refused to do some work on a player.
"We have done a Big Ben stencil on him, he's from Stockwell so we did a lamppost with a Stockwell underground sign on too.
"Nathaniel's also got a couple of individual tattoos that I wouldn't have myself. He's got a Rolex sign, a Bentley with C's in them.
"I think he actually owns a Rolex and a Bentley, so I don't know why he wants it tattooed on him!"
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Footballers are known to be loose with their cash, and former Southampton midfield schemer Schneiderlin is no exception.
While playing for the Saints, the French star took a cab from the south coast to London to visit the shop.
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He then made sure the cab waited six hours until he was finished.
Scott said: "I didn't even know who he was, and he came in wearing a Dunkin' Donuts jumper!
"He waited in reception for two hours before we started working on him.
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"Morgan asked me how long it was going to be because he had a cab waiting.
"I told he'd be in the studio for another four hours, because it was a lot of work and that'd be a lot of money for a cab.
"I asked him where he was getting his cab to, he told me Southampton, and that was when the penny dropped."
Although he's always enjoyed his interactions with players, one did test his patience... step forward Nicklas Bendtner.
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"I've never had any bad experiences with footballers, but Bendtner...
"His girlfriend was getting a tattoo and because of strict rules from the health authorities in Hammersmith and Fulham, we can't let anyone watch in the rooms.
"He insisted he wanted to watch, I told him no and he said, 'I won't get a tattoo then, mate.'
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"He was wearing a top hat, and I remember telling him he can take his top hat and leave the shop if he wants!
"He soon changed his mind before he got to the exit."
Two hours later and Joel's work is done... The Sun man opted for a dove with his daughter's name on it and her date of birth. It looks brilliant.
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"I'm well happy with it, Scott was great," he said.
Scott seems happy as well, giving Joel instructions of how to care for it over the next few days.
Recently, Scott has noticed trends in tattoos and is calling on footballers to step out of their comfort zone.
"A lot people try and do stuff with meaning, that represents kids and wives.
Eden's was the same, a rose for his wife and cherubs for his children," he told us.
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"Black and grey realism is massive, ever since David Beckham had his arm done. A lot of people go for what they see on Instagram.
"But I think it's going to take one big footballer to get a Japanese or a big colour piece, and it will then evolve again.
"It's going that way, they've all got similar tattoos. Angels, cherubs, roses... I think it's going to take one player to change it up."
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Either way, Scott is always delighted to see his work represented on the football pitch and makes sure to let his mates know in the pub who he's inked.
He concluded: "I do keep an eye on the tattoos in the pub when I'm watching the games, and if I've had a few pints I'll let everyone know I did them!
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"It's funny, because when you see the players on TV they don't feel like their human.
"But when they walk in here, worried about getting a tattoo, they're so normal.
"As soon as they take their tops off, ask us if its going to hurt, we know they're just as nervous as the next man. It's very funny."
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