
Lionel Messi is a well-known and extremely successful athlete. Many consider him the GOAT of soccer. As such, he has accumulated quite a bit of wealth over the years. Without further ado, let’s discuss the full extent of the Messi net worth.
Messi Net Worth | How Much Is It?
It is important to start off this discussion by simply answering the question. Lionel Messi has earned quite a bit of money throughout his career. As a result, he has a substantial net worth, as one might expect. According to sources, Lionel Messi currently has a net worth of $850 million. However, this is only the simple answer to this question. There is far more to delve into, which we will do now.
Is Lionel Messi a Billionaire?
There are some misconceptions about Lionel Messi’s net worth and this is one of them. Some sources report that Lionel Messi is a billionaire. However, this is not the case. Also, Messi is a very wealthy man, but he is not a billionaire, at least not yet.
Some sources incorrectly interpreted his earnings and called him that. However, it is important to emphasize that Lionel Messi is not a billionaire at the time of writing.
How Much Money Has Lionel Messi Earned from His Soccer Contracts?
Lionel Messi earns quite a bit of money from his soccer contract and this has been the case for quite some time. It makes sense to start with his contract with FC Barcelona, where he spent the majority of his professional career. Also, it is not possible to track down all of the numbers regarding his various professional contracts with FC Barcelona. However, it is possible to discuss the contract he signed with the club in 2017. That contract made Messi an incredibly well-paid player as the team did everything they could to keep him.
More specifically, the contract gave Messi an annual base salary of $168 million. This contract lasted four years from 2017 to 2021. As a result, this means that Messi earned $672 million from that contract alone in four years.
However, as one should know, Lionel Messi left FC Barcelona in 2021. This was mostly due to the fact that the club had mismanaged its finances for years and could not afford his contract anymore. His tearful departure press conference also affects his net worth.
Messi Net Worth | Lionel Messi Joins Paris Saint-Germain in 2021
Lionel Messi joined Paris Saint-Germain in 2021. This move was largely for financial reasons, since the Ligue 1 club was one of the few clubs in world football that could afford him. He signed a two-year contract with PSG in 2021.
This deal means he earned $75 million a year on each year of his contract before taxes. Taxes reduce this to approximately $40 million a year, which is still quite substantial. Additionally, in total, Messi earned approximately $80 million in two years while he played for Paris Saint-Germain in France. However, this contract also gave him the opportunity to earn further bonuses depending on milestones. Also, he received a cut of his jersey’s sales while at PSG.
However, it is also important to discuss a contract he rejected and how it could have impacted his net worth.
Lionel Messi Rejects a $1 Billion Contract from Saudi Arabia
Unfortunately, many players have been tempted by big-money moves to the Saudi Pro League. This includes even one of the greatest football players ever in Cristiano Ronaldo. An unnamed team in the Saudi Pro League also tried to sign Lionel Messi in 2023.
It is unclear which team that was. However, the team offered Messi a salary of $400 million per season. As a result, Messi could have earned more than $1 billion from the contract over the course of the contract. However, despite coming close to signing it, Lionel Messi ultimately rejected the contract. His next move would not be to Saudi Arabia, but to the United States of America.
Lionel Messi Joins Inter Miami in the MLS
Instead of going to Saudi Arabia, Messi decided to come to the United States of America. Messi joined Inter Miami, a team in Major League Soccer owned by David Beckham. Initially, reports indicated Messi’s Inter Miami contract pays him about $1 million a week and this equates to $54 million per year for four years. Despite this, Messi actually earns $60 million a year from his Inter Miami contract.
However, this contract affects his net worth in other ways, as well. Messi earns a revenue share of MLS Season Pass subscriptions, a subscription service offered by Apple to MLS fans. Additionally, Messi’s contract provided him with a 10% ownership stake in Inter Miami. Inter Miami has been valued as highly as $2 billion. In any case, this ownership stake will likely increase the Messi net worth moving forward.
Messi Net Worth | Lionel Messi’s Endorsements
As one might expect, Lionel Messi has plenty of endorsements, as well. This affects the Messi net worth. Messi initially signed an endorsement deal with Nike when he was 14 but now has a lifetime endorsement deal with Adidas. Additionally, Messi earns quite a bit of money from his endorsement deals, as one would expect considering his status as a legendary and extremely popular athlete. Reports indicate Messi earns between $40-60 million a year from his standard endorsements.
However, there is one final part of his net worth that must be discussed.
Messi Net Worth | Visit Saudi Deal
A leaked contract disclosed that Messi signed a three-year contract with Visit Saudi to promote tourism in Saudi Arabia. This contract paid him $25 million over three years. Messi had to take a vacation once per year to Saudi Arabia, post ten times on social media promoting Saudi Arabia per year, and take part in an annual tourism ad campaign. However, as one would expect, Saudi Arabia included another clause in the contract. The contract stipulated that Messi “cannot say anything that might ‘tarnish’ Saudi Arabia.
This concludes our discussion of the Lionel Messi net worth.
