Dallas artist unveils mural paying tribute to Argentina and Lionel Messi

American visual artist José May, known as “Joe Skilz”, put the final touches over the weekend to a large mural paying tribute to Argentina’s FIFA World Cup team and its star player Lionel Messi.

May spent a week painting the picture in Dallas’ Deep Ellum district ahead of the defending champion’s second tournament match which takes place in the city on Monday against Austria.

The mural prominently features Messi, as well as elements from Argentina's flag and popular chants by fans at matches.

It is one of several being painted in Dallas to celebrate the teams that will be playing World Cup games in the area.

And it has already large crowds of fans.

“Yesterday, I had a lady come by and kiss the mural, kiss Messi. That was pretty interesting. A lot of people really love it, man,” said May.

He said he was really proud of the mural.

“I’m glad I did it justice, and I’m glad I made Argentina proud. And hopefully they’ll take the cup this year.”

In its opening match, Argentina beat Algeria 3-0 with Messi scoring his first-ever World Cup hat-trick, bringing his goal tally for the FIFA tournament to 16.