Who knew the World Cup would generate so much interesting typography in Argentina. First there was Malvinas Sans, based on a banner that Lionel Messi and co displayed after their semi-final victory over England. Now Messi himself has his own font (not that he asked for it).
After Argentina's number 10 announced his retirement from the national side this week, the deodorant brand Rexona echoed the same message that many people were posting on social media: "Gracias, Capitán". But it did it with a font whose design was based on Messi's own moves on the pitch. Behold, GOAT Font... it's a messy.
Rather frustratingly, Rexona hasn't revealed the process behind the making of its Lionel Messi font or which particular plays from the illustrious Rosarino's career the letters are supposed to be based on. That's making some people suspicious.
But on the other hand, the lack of a breakdown of which dribble, pass or shot inspired each letter form might have helped amplify engagement for the brand. That's because people are now combing through archive match footage trying to work out exactly when Messi drew each of these letters on the pitch.
Someone reckons the 'S' comes from Argentina vs Australia at the Qatar World Cup, while others think they've tracked down the 'G' and 'T' to the semi final against Croatia in the same tournament.
Leo se despidió con una carta escrita a mano y Rexona, para homenajearlo, sacó una tipografía que está basada en las jugadas de Messi: “Goat Font.”Miren, por ejemplo, la ‘G’ está basada en cuando dejó al croata en el suelo.⁉️🇦🇷 ¿Qué letra-gol se te viene a la mente?…September 2, 2026
No tengo pruebas pero tampoco dudas de que la S es el primer enganche que le hace a los australianos https://t.co/KxeCMs8XWs pic.twitter.com/K49tdOtW7eSeptember 2, 2026
Como olvidar cuando Messi hizo una T enorme vs Croacia (?) pic.twitter.com/M3mH3GVR1D https://t.co/NcO8BypTORSeptember 2, 2026
You can download Goat Font as an OTF file from the Rexona website.
Can you recognise where any of the letters came from?
