What Is Lionel Messi's Net Worth?
Lionel Messi is an Argentinian-born professional athlete who has a net worth of $850 million. Lionel Messi is often regarded as the best soccer player in the world and one of the best in history. He is certainly one of, if not THE, highest-paid player in history. Lionel Messi played for Barcelona from his teenage years through 2021. During his time with Barcelona, Lionel scored 672 goals in 778 games. On August 10, 2021, it was announced that Lionel would move from Barcelona to Paris Saint-Germain. He also plays for the Argentina National Team. On December 18, 2022, Lionel and the Argentina National team won the World Cup.
Messi is likely the highest-paid soccer player in the world and definitely one of the highest-paid athletes in the world overall. His earth-shattering 2017 contract with Barcelona gave Messi an average base annual salary of $168 million. He also earns roughly $70 million per year from endorsements, which meant under that contract he was making around $200 million per year. On June 7, 2023, Lionel announced that he was joining David Beckham's MLS team, Inter Miami, under a very unique deal that includes a revenue share of subscriptions sold by Apple's coverage of the MLS season and an ownership stake in the team. More details on this contract later in this article, but long story short, Lionel's base salary at Inter Miami is $60 million, and he will own 10% of the time at the end of his contract. That 10% stake could be worth $200 million or more if the team maintains its value after he retires.
Despite what you might have read in some lower-quality sources, Lionel Messi is NOT A BILLIONAIRE. By the time his contract with Barcelona was over, with endorsements, Lionel had earned north of $1.6 billion. By our count, he has earned around $1.2 billion in salary to date and $400 million from endorsements. Some outlets misread that stat about his overall earnings exceeding $1 billion and falsely declared him a "billionaire."
Lionel Messi Salary and Contracts
When he was at his peak with Barcelona, Lionel Messi was easily the highest-paid soccer player in the world. In 2017, he signed a contract with Barcelona that paid a base salary of $168 million. His contract numbers were a closely guarded secret for several years, but in January 2021, the Spanish newspaper "El Mundo" published the leaked contract details. Under a previous contract, his annual base salary was $44.68 million.
In August 2021, Lionel signed with Paris Saint-Germain. His initial contract is a two-year deal that works out to $75 million per year before taxes, roughly $40 million after taxes. Messi's contract also allowed him to earn additional bonuses based on milestones and a cut of jersey sales.
Messi earns an additional $70 million every year from endorsements. He has a lifetime endorsement deal with Adidas.
$1 Billion Saudi Contract
In May 2023, it was reported that Lionel Messi was on the verge of signing a $1 billion contract with an unnamed Saudi Pro League team. The deal would reportedly pay Lionel a salary of $400 MILLION per season. If true, that annual salary would have nearly doubled the 2.5-year, $535 million deal that Cristiano Ronaldo accepted in December of 2022 from a Saudi Pro League team called Al Nassr. Lionel ultimately rejected this offer and instead signed with David Beckham's MLS team Inter Miami.
Inter Miami
On June 7, 2023, it was reported that Messi intended to sign with Inter Miami of MLS, the David Beckham co-owned American franchise. Reportedly, the deal would pay him a salary of $1.03 million per week ($54 million a year) over four years. In an interesting twist, Messi's Miami contract will be supplemented by a rev share of subscriptions sold by Apple to its MLS Season Pass. It was later revealed that Lionel's Inter Miami contract pays him $60 million per year in salary and gave him a 10% stake in the team, a team that has been valued at as much as $2 billion.
Adidas Endorsement
Being as he is one of the most famous and recognizable athletes in the world; Messi has been sponsored by Adidas since 2006. He is their leading brand endorser. He was originally signed with Nike at age 14 but switched to Adidas. In 2008, Messi had a long-running signature collection of Adidas boots and received his own sub-brand of boots called Adidas Messi.
Visit Saudi Endorsement Deal
According to a contract that was leaked in June 2023, back in January 2021, Lionel signed a three-year contract that has the ability to pay him $25 million to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia. The contract requires Lionel to do the following:
- #1) Take an annual vacation to Saudi Arabia. He can bring up to 20 friends. All expenses are paid, including travel and five-star accommodations. The vacation must last a minimum of five days.
- #2) Make ten social media posts per year that promote Saudi Arabia using hashtags that are approved by the kingdom.
- #3) Participate in an annual tourism ad campaign. Last year that meant appearing in a single promotional video for Visit Saudi.
For #2 and #3 above, he is paid $2 million per obligation per year. He can then make another $2 million per year to participate in "charitable work."
Total it all up, and over three years, Lionel can earn $25 million for relatively little work. But there is one condition: According to the contract viewed by the Times, Lionel "cannot say anything that might 'tarnish' Saudi Arabia.'"
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Early Life
Lionel Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in Rosario, Argentina. His father, Jorge Horacio Messi, was a factory steelworker, and his mother, Celia Maria Cuccittini, was a part-time cleaner. He is close to his two older brothers, Rodrigo and Matias, and a sister, Maria Sol, and the family would constantly play soccer together along with their cousins Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, both of whom went on to become professional footballers as well. Messi joined the Rosario soccer club when he was just six years old and played for Newell's Old Boys.
When Lionel was ten, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, and his father could no longer afford medical treatment for him. Newell's agreed to contribute but later took back their promise. The Sporting Director of FC Barcelona, Carles Rexach, offered to pay the medical bills if Messi could move to Spain. With Lionel's father's approval, Rexach drew up a contract on a paper napkin, and the family moved to Barcelona in February 2001. They moved into an apartment near Camp Nou, the club's stadium. Messi suffered homesickness after his mother and siblings returned to Rosario while he stayed in Barcelona with his father. After a year, Messi was enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation, where he became a part of the "Baby Dream Team," Barcelona's greatest collection of young soccer players.
Career
At the age of 17, Lionel made his league debut against RCD Espanyol and became the third-youngest person ever to play for FC Barcelona. At that time, he was also the youngest player to ever score for Barcelona. During the 2005-2006 season, Messi began being paid as a first-team member and also got his Spanish citizenship. He also made his debut in the Spanish First Division league. Messi received a standing ovation during his first match after he scored alongside superstar Ronaldinho. Out of his seventeen League appearances, he scored six goals. He scored one goal in six for the Champions League. In 2006, Messi became the youngest Argentine to play and score in the FIFA World Cup.
After the World Cup, in the 2006-2007 season, Messi was injured with a broken metatarsal, which took three months to heal. He was back in the game against Racing Santander as a second-hand substitute. In March of that season, he scored a hat trick against Real Madrid, which made him the first player since Ivan Zamorano to do so in the El Clasico. In the 2007-2008 season, Messi led Barcelona into the top four of La Liga. He won the nomination, as a forward, for a FIFA ProWorld XI Player Award, and the Marca newspaper named him the best player in the world. Other newspapers followed and stated that Lionel should be awarded the Ballon d'Or. He finally won his first in 2009, at age 22, and went on to win three more in a row each year. He also obtained an Olympic Gold Medal in the 2008 Summer Olympics. In 2012, he set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season. This sealed his fate as Barcelona's all-time top scorer. In the next two seasons, Messi, now the team captain for Barcelona, finished second for the Ballon d'Or behind career rival Cristiano Ronaldo. In 2014, Messi led Argentina to the finals of the World Cup, for which he also won the Golden Ball. Lionel announced his retirement in 2016 but reversed his decision and led Argentina to qualification for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. They also finished third at the 2019 Copa America. In 2019, Messi secured a record-breaking sixth Ballon d'Or.
2022 World Cup
On December 18, Lionel and his Argentina teammates defeated France in the 2022 World Cup final. Not including penalty kicks, Lionel had two goals in the game, which went to over time and then a shootout.
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Charity
Messi is the founder of the Leo Messi Foundation, which helps find better opportunities for underprivileged children regarding education and health care. He started the charity in 2007 following a visit to a Boston children's hospital, an experience that he has said deeply changed him. His foundation, with the help of Herbalife, helps to pay for medical treatment, transportation and recuperation for children diagnosed with major medical problems. Messi is also the Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF since March 2010. He completed a field mission for UNICEF, traveling to Haiti to bring public awareness to the plight of the country's children following the recent earthquake.
Lionel also does individual fundraising activities such as global football matches and raising money for various charities. Messi financially supports many youth football clubs in Argentina, such as Sarmiento, Rosario Central, Newell's, River Plate, and Boca Junior. At his boyhood club, Newell's, Messi funded the construction of a new gym and dorm inside the club stadium in 2012. His former coach there is employed by the Messi Foundation and works as a talent scout for young players.
In March 2020, Messi made a $1 million donation to help fight the spread of coronavirus. In addition, Lionel and his fellow Barcelona Football Club teammates took a 70 percent cut in their salaries during the COVID-19 emergency. They did this so that no Barcelona workers would have their wages docked during the global emergency.
Personal Life
Lionel has been in a relationship with Antonela Roccuzzo, a fellow Rosario native, since 2008. They have known each other since they were five years old. They confirmed their romance publicly in January 2009. Messi and Roccuzzo got married in Rosario in June 2007. The couple has three children: Thiago (b. 2012), Matero (b. 2015), and Ciro (b. 2018). Lionel is still very close to his immediate family members, especially his mother. He has her face tattooed on his left shoulder. His professional affairs are run mostly as a family business, with his father having been his agent since Messi was 14. His older brother Rodrigo handles his publicity.
Real Estate
In 2009, Messi paid $2 million for a home in a Barcelona neighborhood called Pedrables. He then spent millions on renovations and upgrades. The home is estimated to be worth $7 – $10 million today.
In November 2019, Lionel paid $5 million for a condo in Miami. In April 2021, he paid $7.3 million for the entire ninth floor of a different building in Miami.
