Lionel Messi won the title of second richest football athletesecond only to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Bloomberg survey shows that . This amount, adjusted for taxes, market performance, investment income and sponsorships, ensures that his net worth exceeds the US$1 billion mark.
In this way, he becomes one of football’s rare billionaires. Cristiano Ronaldo has secured this title since joining the Saudi club Al-Nassr FC in 2023, adding a significant salary to his fortune.
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Messi managed to become a billionaire not through the salary he receives from Inter Miami, but with the help of a diversified investment portfolio, which concentrates most of his earnings, and advertising contracts.
This is because, in addition to being a player on the American team, the Argentine has a shareholding in the club — the value of which is unknown. And Inter Miami’s fortunes have been growing since Messi joined the team, consolidating themselves as the most valuable football team in the USA.
Jorge Mas, owner of Inter Miami, has already stated that Messi’s total annual salary at the club is around US$70 million to US$80 million, considering the shareholding rights and the player’s remuneration.
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Messi also won a variety of deals upon his arrival in the US.
The American football league and Apple, for example, set up a revenue-sharing agreement that guarantees Messi a percentage of sales of new subscriptions to Apple TV+’s MLS Season Pass streaming package.
In 2024, the athlete opened the capital of a real estate investment fund focused on hotels and commercial properties, on a small Spanish stock exchange, valued at US$232 million.
In the same year he also launched the sports drink Más+ by Messi in partnership with Mark Anthony International SRL, as well as becoming an investor in the Argentine restaurant chain El Club de la Milanesa.
Its portfolio also includes the acquisition of football clubs, as was the case with the purchase of the Spanish fifth division team, Cornellà. He also has stakes in Inter Miami and Deportivo LSM.
