Lionel Messi Net worth | salary | House & Cars

Lionel Messi is considered as GOAT (Greatest of All Time) by many, as he is one of the most talented and successful player in the world to have played the beautiful game.

He has broken and created many records in his entire football career, both for his club, his country Argentina and for himself. Besides his numerous records, he has also amassed a lot of wealth for himself.

The 30-year-old was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. From a very young age he played soccer extensively and he excelled at the sport. But soon he was diagnosed with deficiency in his growth hormone.

Spanish club FC Barcelona saw immense talent in him and signed Messi to their club, at a young age of just 13 years, and also agreed to pay for his treatments.

Messi made his professional debut for the club in 2004 at just 17 years and soon started showing signs that he was going to be a top player in the global stage. Even the legendary Diego Maradona was so mesmerized by the young boy’s talents that he named Messi his successor.

Till date FC Barcelona’s all-time top scorer has won five Ballon d’Ors and four European Golden Shoes. Messi has led his club to four Champions League titles, six Copa del Rey titles and nine La Liga titles.

He has also led his national team Argentina to a goal medal at the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics and the 2014 World Cup finals, where he was announced Player of the Tournament. He is also the leading goal scorer for the national team. He retired from international duties in 2016 after loss to Chile in two consecutive Copa America finals, but later changed his decision and helped Argentina to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.

Lionel Messi Salary & Contracts

Messi gets a huge amount from his contracts at the club. The contract under which he is currently playing, and which runs up to 2021, is worth a net £500,000 (€565,000) a week.

Because of the various tax rules and bonuses it is difficult to compare exactly the wages of players, but Messi is probably the second-highest paid player in Europe after his former teammate Neymar (£537,000 weekly after tax).

Before that contract was signed, he used to get £336,000 a week, and was overtaken by his rival Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, as they had signed fresh contracts earlier with Real Madrid.

Only Carlos Tevez and Ezequiel Lavezzi get more salary than Messi, as they play in the cash-rich Chinese Super League.

Messi’s huge increase in salary happened primarily because of Neymar’s transfer to Paris Saint-Germain last summer, as Barca profited a huge amount from the transfer. Barcelona has admitted that due to the new contract their wage spending would go above the margin that is generally recommended by UEFA.

The current President of FC Barcelona, Josep Maria Bartomeu, has said, “The LFP and UEFA make recommendations but nobody sets a salary cap. We are above what is recommended but the important thing is to be sustainable. We can afford it.”

Earnings through Various Sponsorship Deals by Messi

Messi’s main sponsorship money comes from his boot manufacturing company Adidas, with whom Messi has a long partnership. As Messi and Ronaldo are rivals on the pitch, so is Adidas (Messi) and Nike (Ronaldo) off the pitch.

As it was rumoured that Ronaldo had signed a lifetime deal with Nike, along with the basketball star LeBron James which would give them both a worth $1 billion amount, Messi did the same with Adidas. The original amount of the deal was not disclosed but reports have suggested that the deal will take him through at least until the end of his playing career.

Besides Adidas, Messi has also done endorsements with other companies like Pepsi, Gillette and Turkish Airlines. In the Forbes 2016 celebrity rich list, Messi’s endorsements were at a value of $28 million (£23 million) for that year in total.

Earnings through Other Businesses by Messi

Unlike Ronaldo, his rival in sports, Messi does have businesses which deal with underwear, shoes and fragrances. Rather Messi prefers to invest his money in buying property.

Messi has put money into the Azahares del Parana project (a set of gated communities out of the city) which is around his birthplace of Rosario in Argentina. He has also invested money in an apartment building in the city centre.

There might be other businesses that Messi does, but the little wizard from Argentina likes to keep everything pretty private.

Charity Works by Messi

Messi does most of his charity works through sources and ventures that he trusts. Separately he owns a charity organisation named the Leo Messi Foundation.

During his marriage to his long-term partner Antonella Roccuzzo, he requested his guests for donation in the name of the foundation instead of presenting the couple wedding gifts.

Messi’s charity works are focussed mainly towards the vulnerable children and their healthcare. He has been working with UNICEF from 2004 and was declared an ambassador for the organisation in 2010.

Lionel Messi Net Worth

Forbes has ranked Messi second among 100 highest-earning celebrities’ list, and eighth overall, in 2016. His income for the year was put at $81.5 million (£67 million) which was $6.5 million behind the topper Ronaldo and some $44 million ahead of Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who was third on the list.

Recently through some reports published by Celebrity Net Worth, Messi’s salary was revealed as $44.68 million (£31.91 million) and his net worth was calculated to be around $340 million (£242.9 million).

Lionel Messi House

Messi’s current house is located in Bellamar, a prestigious and expensive suburb of Castelldefels, Barcelona, and is easily accessible from the Camp Nou Football stadium (12 miles away) and Ciutat Esportiva, where the Barcelona players train.

From Messi’s house the beautiful Catalan hills and the Mediterranean coast can be easily viewed. Even the centre of Barcelona is just 16 miles away. This gives the football superstar to enjoy the best of both the worlds.

Messi bought an old house for €1.8 million in 2009 and spent more than €6 million for its renovation. The house has open terraces and large panoramic windows to enjoy the view of the hills.

The floors of the house are wooden, the walls are light-coloured and everything is decorated in a Mediterranean style giving the house a comfortable and modern look.

Everything in the house is generally in the colour of beige and brown. While the floors are light beige in colour, the furniture is dark brown or light walnut in colour.

The house features a gym, a garden, a small football pitch and a swimming pool. It also has a stunning terrace which is accompanied with a barbeque and outdoor dining area.

Lionel Messi lives with his wife Antonella Roccuzzo, his three children− Thiago, Mateo and Ciro− along with two dogs in the house.

House Shape Football – FAKE or REAL ?

The house of Leo Messi is designed with the help of world-famous architect Luis Garrido. The house is made in the shape of a soccer ball and is called the One- Zero Eco House. According to reports the designing and building of the house has cost Messi 7 million euros.

The house is situated 22 miles outside Barcelona in the Castelldefels area overlooking the Catalan mountains. The design of the house is almost identical to a soccer ball and the main plot, which is 35 km in size, is divided into two equal halves which represent a football pitch.

One half of the plot is covered with actual durable green grass, while the other half boasts of a large swimming pool with sparkly marble floor.

One half of the roof is covered with green grass to match the ground’s design, while the other half is covered with mirrored glass to allow the entry of natural light.

The left half of the plot, which serves as the entrance, looks like the number 1 when viewed from above. When the front entrance is viewed together with the main house, it forms the number 10, which is Messi’s jersey number.

The main building has classic hexagonal patterns which serve as dividers and permeate the structure. The perimeter of the house is surrounded by terraces which are made of wood, so that the residents that connect themselves with the lush outdoors.

Architect Luis Garrido said that the house was made keeping in mind Messi’s every interest, lifestyle preference, physical and emotional needs.

In an interview Garrido said, “Messi is a person who has come from little and had to work for what he had. Messi’s house symbolises duality. The house is closely related to him, his idiosyncrasies, his personality and even his own torments. I would say the most important personality of Messi is duality, determination and self-belief.”

Lionel Messi Cars Collection

1975 Ferrari 335 Sport

Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale

Audi Q7

The Audi R8 GT

Mini Cooper S cabriolet

Range Rover Vogue