Pic: Damien Hirst has produced a portrait of Lionel Messi for charity and it’s great

If we were Lionel Messi, we'd be buying this for our sitting room

Football folk and portraits are usually an unhappy mix. From Brendan Rodgers to Eric Cantona, when they are committed to canvas, the end results are usually something you'd hide in the loft than hang in a gallery. But an idea to raise funds for 1in11, a charity backed by Unicef that aims to help disadvantaged children in Asia get the educational opportunities they deserve, looks to have elevated the football portrait to new heights. Lionel Messi is an ambassador for the charity and two of the world's best known artists have created portraits of the Barca man for sale for charity. Takashi Murakami, the Japanese artist, has made a portrait of Messi on his well-known flower background but it is the one by Damien Hirst that is really special. Using his well-known spin technique, Hirst's Messi portrait is simply fantastic Earlier this year a single panel spin painting by Hirst called Beautiful Ain't That A Kick In The Head went for the €500,000 so a triple painting, of one of the world's most famous people, called Beautiful Messi Spin Painting, is sure to go for huge money. Leo, you'd be mad not to buy it yourself when it goes under the hammer at Sotherby's on February 12th. Hat-tip to the Guardian