Aryaman Sharma

The Meaning Behind Eder Militao’s Stunning Virgin Mary Back Tattoo

Eder Militao, Footballers' Tattoos, Real Madrid

Eder Militao has been an astute signing for Real Madrid. Signed from Porto back in 2019, Militao has established himself as one of the starting centre-backs for the record Champions League holders and one of the best in the world.

With another impressive campaign by Real Madrid underway, qualifying for the Semi-Finals of the Champions League against Bayern Munich and on top of the LaLiga table eight points clear of rivals Barcelona, Eder Militao has been forced to sit out for a majority of this season with an unfortunate ACL injury at the beginning of the season.

However slowly and surely, the Brazilian is coming back from his lengthy layoff and was called up upon late during Real Madrid’s euphoric win on penalties over Manchester City in the UCL Quarter Final last night. A show of real defensive mettle from Los Blancos, Militao came on in the second half of Extra Time to secure the backline further.

Whilst he was getting ready to enter the pitch, Militao showed off a massive back tattoo that left the fans in awe. A piece of inked art spanning across the whole back is nothing short of beautiful.

The tattoo is that of a holy figure of Christianity, Virgin Mary. Mother Mary, as she is also called, was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus. Militao, a firm believer in the religion, dons this tattoo as not only as a sign of his faith in Jesus, but also a tribute to his mother. In Christianity, Mary is seen as the God-Bearer or the mother of God. Eder sees this scripture in a way that a God-Bearer is god herself.

This belief is what drives Militao on the field. He owes his fast-tracked career to his mother, who he revealed, in a letter to himself he posted on Instagram before the 2022 Champions League final vs Liverpool, that it was his mother that pushed him not to give up on his passion. A fitting tribute to a pivotal being in his life.

The art is not the only piece of ink on Militao’s body. He also has a big freedom pigeon and Jesus tattoo just below his chest. His arms too are covered with religious tattoo such as praying hands, roses, crosses and other Christian symbols.

He also has dedicated an another tattoo to his mother Ana Maria Militao through an inscription “Ana Maria”. That’s not the only mention of his family through ink. He also has a beautiful and detailed picture perfect tattoo of his daughter Cecilia’s smiling face.

A tattoo of Militao’s daughter Cecilia on his forearm.

These tattoos represent and define Eder as a human being. A calm and collected man who loves his family and puts them first and in the center of everything he does. He also doesn’t hide his affection for his religion and faith in Christianity and ideals such as peace and love.

For Militao, these are the guiding principles of his life. The same ideals that helped him recover from his injury. That too in time for Real Madrid’s run-in. A key fixture at the back, it can also be said his return to the team is much appreciated and much needed as Los Blancos accelerate their charge towards another impressive double.