Fans have reacted to a tattoo design thought to be for Michael Olise, with some joking that the Bayern Munich and France star is about to get one of football’s worst back tattoos.
However, the image circulating online does not show Olise holding the finished piece. Instead, it appears to be a digital design being created for a possible full-back tattoo.
The design was shared by London-based tattoo artist @jayptatts, who is famous for being the trusted ink specialist for elite Premier League, European, and international football stars. High-profile athletes regularly visit his studio or bring him in to design massive, multi-session sleeves and back pieces.
The Instagram story depicts a tablet displaying the proposed artwork on a person’s back, which includes planets, a spacecraft, a burst of light, geometric patterns, and a maze-like structure. A single figure appears to walk through the center, with “WSG” visible on the upper-right side.
He posted on the design idea on Instagram story by captioning,
Who’s back piece are we currently designing.
But seeing this, the fan was furious as if they were seeing a AI generated design from @jayptatts who was known for his hyper-detailed black-and-grey realism, fine-line portraits, realistic animals, and large-scale custom work.
olise look at me man you do NOT want this on ur back 😭 pic.twitter.com/mhGKhDr8vp
— 🪽 (@heshkiii) August 26, 2026
This reaction has also centered on how different the proposed design is from @jayptatts’ previous works.
That contrast prompted one X user to ask, questioning the change in his tattoo art style.
How do you go from doing his best tattoo ever to this?
how do you go from doing his best tattoo ever to this pic.twitter.com/wKa8YyjYFD
— ☆ (@V6MPLRE) August 26, 2026
However, the criticism focuses on the design rather than @jayptatts’ technical ability. Tattoo artists frequently work in a variety of styles based on their clients’ requests, so a realism specialist can create ornamental, graphic, or stylized pieces.
Fontaine has also worked with well-known football players, creating large sleeves, portraits, and other detailed tattoos.
His social media portfolio demonstrates his ability to create smooth shading and realistic textures, and his design process frequently includes digitally mapping large pieces onto a client’s body before tattooing begins. He has 13.2k Instagram followers as a result of his excellent tattoo design style.
The proposed Olise design takes this approach, using the back as a canvas for a large composition with interconnected elements.
Olise is famous for his tattoos, including a “kaizen” tattoo representing the concept of continuous improvement, which he has previously linked to his football career.
This tattoo in Japanese that says ‘kaizen’ which translates to ‘Each day a little more’.
Olise has explained that the idea appealed to him after being introduced to it by a coach at Crystal Palace. He connected the concept with improving gradually every day and applying that mentality to his football.
It came from a conversation at the training ground at Crystal Palace. One of the coaches was talking about kaizen. Afterward, I looked into it. The idea of improving every day, little by little, until you reach a certain level. I relate to that philosophy.
The proposed cosmic back piece would be much larger, covering the majority of his back with planets, a spaceship, geometric patterns, a central figure, and other elements.
For the time being, consider the artwork to be a proposed design rather than a finished tattoo. It is unclear whether Olise will receive the entire design, modify it before the session, or select a different concept entirely.
