Zlatan Ibrahimovic: PSG striker reveals 50 new 'tattoos' in goal celebration to raise awareness for World Food Programme

The forward was booked for the cause

Zlatan Ibrahimovic's celebration was to raise awareness for those starving (Zlatan Ibrahimovic)

Paris St Germain striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has explained just why he took his shirt off to reveal his new 'tattoos' after scoring on Saturday - it was a charitable gesture he made in support of the World Food Programme.

Ibrahimovic was booked after only two minutes for removing his shirt as he celebrated scoring the opening goal in his side's 2-2 draw with Caen.

But the sanction was a small price to pay as the heavily-tattooed Sweden international displayed several new designs, a mysterious collection of signatures which he shed light on at a press conference on Sunday.

"Saturday evening against Caen, when I took off my shirt, everyone asked what these new tattoos were," said Ibrahimovic on PSG's official website.

"I had 50 temporary tattoos on my body. They were the names of real people who suffer from starvation in the world.

"Even if the tattoos are gone today, these people are still there. There are 805 million starving people in the world. I want you to see them, through me, to help the World Food Programme."

The scheme was the brainchild of WFP director Marina Catena, who accompanied Ibrahimovic at the press conference.

Catena said: "I had this dream that someone would share this message in a simple way, beyond any barrier.

"We thought of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is often asked for autographs. Why should it not be Zlatan, this time, who wore the autographs on his skin?

"We are proud that he agreed to carry this message and that Paris St Germain helped us to organise this project."

Ibrahimovic added: "It's the first time I have worked publicly with any charity. If we can reach the world's leaders, I know that we can solve together the problem of hunger in the world."

Additional reporting by PA