It has been reportedly revealed that residents of Catalonia have been naming their cats and dogs after Barcelona striker Lionel Messi, with the total number going to 701 pets being named in the region as Messi.
Catalonia's veterinary association reportedly gave the figures after browsing through archives of over a million pet names, and revealed that 701 cats and dogs in the region were named Messi, while only 10 pets were named after Real Madrid striker Cristiano Ronaldo, The Independent reported.
Other notable pet names to stand out in the analysis were Colomian singer Shakira, who is in a relationship with Barcelona's Gerard Pique, while the most popular famous name of all was Leitizia, after the wife of Spain's Crown Prince Felipe, the report added.
Moreover, the analysis also revealed that 102 pets were named as Napoleon and 48 were named as Obama, after the US President Barack Obama, the report further added.