Hector Bellerin poses with giant portrait of himself – an amazing ‘gift’ from famous graffiti artist Endless
Arsenal defender shows he is a style icon off the pitch with unique, religious-style painting to add to his man cave
HECTOR BELLERIN has shown you can't paint all footballers with the same brush.
Trendy artist Endless gifted the Arsenal right-back a religious-looking portrait of himself - with a halo above his head and a cathedral window behind him.
Bellerin posed with the painting in his man cave - alongside his collection of football and basketball jerseys.
The Spain star, 23, claims the work of London graffiti icon Endless "speaks to me on many levels".
And the portrait is certainly an eye-catching mix of style and street-cred.
It came about after Bellerin and fellow Gunner Alex Iwobi reportedly met Endless at his solo exhibition in London 12 months ago.
The Bellerin portrait is part of Endless's new Deities collection, which highlights differences between old and new symbols of worship.
Bellerin tweeted today to deny claims he paid £25,000 for it.
He said: "It was a gift from the artist. Didn't pay anything for it."
The speedy star feels it is a perfect example of his love for art and culture.
report Bellerin as saying: "In my opinion Endless is one of the best and coolest British artists out there today.
"His work appears bold and raw on the face of it, but when you look closely each piece contains a powerful message about worship in the world today.
"With my interest in fashion and culture, his art speaks to me on many levels, and that's why I commissioned this piece.
"I am glad to have finally received my artwork and am humbled Endless is going to feature it as part of his Deities collection."
The painting shows Bellerin's head looming large in front of window arches at Augsburg Cathedral. And his halo includes Endless’s ‘Chapel’ logo.
Endless himself said: "I was very interested when Hector came to me with this commission.
"His position as a professional footballer and fashion status symbol means he is the perfect balance between the various things people worship today."
Meanwhile, on the pitch Bellerin is helping Arsenal adjust to the different strokes of new chief Unai Emery.
The Gunners recovered from losses against Manchester City and Chelsea with a 3-1 defeat of bottom side West Ham last Saturday.
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