Barcelona

Lionel Messi's puppy has completed his evolution to full-on behemoth

Published Nov. 15, 2016 2:41 p.m. ET

Alex Dowd

We knew this time was coming, but Lionel Messi's cute, adorable, little puppy has grown into a massive animal that nearly dwarfs his owner. It appears Messi and his partner Antonella Roccuzzo have bestowed the name "Sr. Hulk" on the mastiff, which is about as apropos as it gets.

Using Instagram as our measuring stick, let's chart Sr. Hulk's growth over the past eight months.

There he is 32 weeks ago, back when Messi's hair hadn't been dipped in peroxide. Those massive paws were a dead giveaway that Sr. Hulk was destined to be a big boy.

A few weeks later, Sr. Hulk still has those puppy dog eyes but looks decidedly bigger.

Flash forward to one month ago, and Sr. Hulk is no longer a lap dog. Messi's look has changed as much as his best friend's, although the Barcelona talisman rightfully catches a lot of flak for his new ensemble.

Boom! There's Sr. Hulk in a photo from Monday. Messi might be slight in stature, but he looks like he legitimately could ride Sr. Hulk to training if he wanted to. The craziest part is: this might not even be Sr. Hulk's final form.

Stay tuned to see if he turns into an actual direwolf.

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