Lionel Messi is an Argentinian professional football player. His estimated net worth is around 280$ million.
Early life
Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24, 1987 in Rosario, Argentina. He grew up in a family of 6. His father worked in a steel factory. Messi was born of a Italian-Spanish descent from his father’s side and mostly Italian descent from his mother’s side.
His grandfather from his father’s side came to Argentina in 1883. Lionel has two older brothers Rodrigo and Matias and one sister Maria Sol. Even as a little boy, Messi loved playing football and watching games with his family.
He started training at a very early age and when he was only 5 years old, he started playing for the Grandoli team. It was a local football team that his father trained. In 1995 he moved to Newell’s Old Boys where he continued training football.
With only 11 years old, he was diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency. Messi’s family didn’t have enough money to treat him. By this time many coaches have heard about his talent and one of them was Carles Rexach, the sports director of the football team Barcelona.
The team offered Messi a try-out game, so they can see him play. The coaches and the team directors were amazed by his astonishing talent and decided to pay for his treatment. Messi also signed a contract with Barcelona and soon he and his family were off to Spain.
Professional football career
Messi made his debut with only 16 years old in a game against Porto. In only one year he managed to become the third youngest player in the history of Barcelona, who played in the La League.
In the season of 2003-04, Messi was already coming up on the club’s ranks and he was ready to show off his talent in full light. He was named the player of the month and scored 18 goals in 11 games. Even the coaches from other teams were struck with this amazing player and what he could do on the court.
Since the beginning of his career he has been playing for Barcelona and it seems as though he will stay there for a while longer. In the 2008 Olympic game in Beijing, he won a gold medal and in Brazil 2014. He won a silver medal together with his team.
It has been rumored that Barcelona will offer Messi a 30$ million annual contract just so he continues to play for the team. His current contract brings him around 21.5$ million. From his endorsements and sponsorships, a lot more money is being piled to his bank account.
He has a contract with Adidas that sums up to 40$ million and so far the only player who has a bigger income than Messi is Ronaldo. Besides Adidas, he also has contracts with Pepsi, EA Sports, Samsung and many more. Because of this massive income annually, he is currently the second highest earning football player in the world. SportsPro claims that Messi is the most profitable athlete currently in the world. Messi has also endorsements from luxury brands such as D&G, Audemars Piguet and he is the spokesperson for Ooredoo, Gillette and Turkish Airlines.
His character and voice have been used in a Pro Revolution Soccer video game for 3 years and recently for the EA Sports FIFA from 2013 to 2016.
Being such a great athlete brings a lot of fans and Messi has no problem informing them regularly on his social media platforms about his life and career. He has one of the largest fan-base currently in the world and his Facebook page got 7 million followers in 2011 within only few hours.
A gold replica of his left foot has been made in Japan, and sold for 5.2$ million for charitable causes. He starred in a Turkish Airlines commercial, together with Kobe Bryant, and the commercial got over 130 million views on YouTube in one year.
Personal life
Messi has been dating Antonella Roccuzzo since 2008. They knew each other since they were little and Antonella is also a native to his hometown of Rosario. They kept their relationship a secret until recently, but Messi came public with their relationship in 2009.
The couple has two sons together, Thiago and Mateo. Even though he is now one of the most popular athletes in the world, Messi still enjoys spending time with his family and childhood friends. The fame and the wealth haven’t changed this talented athlete.
Most of his businesses are run by his family members and his father has been his manager since he was 14. Messi Foundation is being run by his mother and brother Matias. To show how much he is tied to his hometown, he decided to keep his old house in Rosario, and his mother is living in a luxury penthouse in Rosario.
To give back to the community and help those in need, Messi has been organizing many charitable events to support various causes. He was also a Goodwill Ambassador for the UNICEF and most recently, after winning a legal case with La Razon newspaper, he donated the damages from the process to the Doctors Without Borders project.
Not many people know the fact that Messi is also a big fan of Basketball and water polo. He enjoys sharing his support for his favorite teams and we can see his cheering often on his social media accounts.
This talented athlete is a living proof that you don’t have to change, who you are and forget about the world after your net worth starts to rise. With his good heart and breathtaking skills on the court, he keeps us looking forward to his future business endeavours.
From 2009 to 2014 he was the highest paid football player in the world.
Quick summary:
Full Name: Lionel Andres Messi
Date of Birth: June 24, 1987
Birth Place: Rosario, Argentina
Age: 30 years
Profession: professional football player
Height: 1.70 m
Weight: 72 kg
Net worth: 280$ million
