Name: | Lionel Andrés Messi |
Profession: | Professional footballer |
Spouse: | Antonella Roccuzzo, m. 2017 |
Children: | Thiago Messi Roccuzzo, Mateo Messi Roccuzzo, Ciro Messi Roccuzzo |
Parents: | Jorge Horácio Messi, Celia María Cuccittini |
Siblings: | Rodrigo Messi, Matías Messi, María Sol Messi |
Instagram: | @leomessi |
Instagram followers: | 224 million |
Nationality: | Argentina |
Date of birth: | 24/06/1987 |
Height: | 1.7 m / 5'7 |
Weight: | 72 Kg / 143 lbs |
Net worth: | $400 Million |
Age: | 34 |
Lionel Messi may have been a soccer sensation since he was a kid, but it wasn't an easy road for him. Messi had a growth hormone deficiency as a child, but his physical skills spared him; his talent prompted FC Barcelona to sign him at the age of 13 and pay for his growth hormone therapy.
Barcelona made the right decision, and Messi was able to realize his full potential. Lionel Messi, now in his 30s, has evolved into one of the best forwards of all time. His Barcelona teams have won La Liga nine times under his leadership. Argentina's national teams have won an Olympic gold medal and qualified for the FIFA World Cup finals. He is also the highest-scoring player in the history of La Liga, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi earns more money than Ronaldo, which is fitting. Being one of the best pays off, and he has established himself as one of the best as the star of Barcelona for over a decade.
- Lionel Messi is of Italian descent, despite his Spanish citizenship. His paternal family is from Ancona, in the Marche region of Italy.
- Che Guevara, the Argentine revolutionary, was born in the same city as him, Rosario.
- Despite his celebrity, he retains strong ties with the people of his hometown, Rosario. He is also Rosario's worldwide ambassador.
- Messi's rendition of the Hand of God goal is unique. He scored a goal with his hand against Recreativo de Huelva on October 4, 2006.
- Since 2010, he has been named one of the world's most marketable sportsmen by ‘SportsPro.'
- He was the first player to earn more than €40 million, making him one of the highest-paid footballers in the world.
- On his left shoulder, he has a tattoo of his mother's face.
- He is the only player to have won the FIFA Ballon d'Or four times and the European Golden Shoe three times. He was also awarded the Golden Ball twice and the European Golden Boy once.
- Messi holds the record for the most hat-tricks scored in the Champions League (four in total).
- His favorite meal is escalope Milanese, and he is renowned for his extreme love of food.
Lionel Messi net worth is estimated to be $400 million, according to Celebrity Net Worth. Through his lucrative sponsorship deals, he is now the highest-paid soccer player in the world. Forbes rated him as the second highest-paid athlete in the world in 2018.
Messi's most recent contract extension, which will hold him with Barcelona until 2021, was signed in 2017. Through this contract extension, he became the highest-paid player in the sport, surpassing Cristiano Ronaldo. In this deal, Messi earns an average of $33.6 million a year, or $646,000 a week.
It was just a matter of time. The all-time top scorer in La Liga will eventually become the highest-paid player in the league. He is not only the highest-paid athlete in La Liga; Lionel Messi's salary was rated the highest-paid athlete in the world in 2019 after earning $127 million in a year, $92 million of which came from playing the game (the rest comes from his incredibly lucrative endorsement deals).
Messi has been a member of FC Barcelona in any way since the year 2000, when he was just 13 years old. The first three years of his career were spent in the youth academy of the team. Barcelona signed him to his first professional contract after seeing his excellent performance and undeniable potential. By 2005, he had exceeded expectations, and Barcelona extended his contract until 2010 - with a buyout option of €150 million ($173.6 million in current USD) if he was acquired by another club.
Messi became a regular in Barcelona's starting lineup alongside the team's then-biggest player Ronaldo, quickly surpassing him as the face of the franchise and increasing his paycheck significantly. His 2007 contract extension saw him make €100,000 ($115,780) a week. By 2008, he was the highest-paid player on the club.
Only a year back, Messi, inarguably the biggest star on the roster, signed a new deal - this one until 2016, with a buyout option of €250 million ($289.4 million).
Messi broke Barcelona's goal scoring record in the 2012-2013 season, and by the end of the 2014-2015 season, he had become the all-time leader in La Liga. Messi was under contract until 2018 and earning €13 million ($15 million) a year at the time. At that point, it's no surprise he's making $33.6 million a year.
Messi was not only the star of the Barcelona franchise by 2018, but he was also the team's designated captain. Messi's new title helped Barcelona end the 2018-19 season in first place in La Liga, and he scored four of the team's five hat tricks during the season.
While Messi spends the majority of his time in Spain, he is also a proud member of Argentina's national team. His time in Argentina hasn't been as statistically effective as his record-breaking time in La Liga. Despite this, the squad has had some especially thrilling moments; in addition to qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, the previous three World Cup teams on which he played (2006, 2010, and 2014) have advanced to the quarterfinals.
The 2014 squad made it all the way to the final, where they were defeated by Germany. Messi had a good start to the 2014 World Cup, but he was unable to score in the semi-final and final matches, including a decisive free kick at the end of Germany's victory.
Argentina's 2018 World Cup campaign got off to a slow start. Following a 1-1 draw with Iceland, in which Messi struggled to score a single goal, they were beaten 3-0 by Croatia.
After a poor start, there were concerns that this team will progress to the Round of 16, but after a near 2-1 victory over Nigeria, in which Messi scored the game's first goal, Argentina advanced to the Round of 16, where they would face France. They would lose in this series, as France would progress to the final and win the tournament.
About the fact that Messi is yet to bring a World Cup to Argentina, he has brought a gold medal to his homeland. Argentina's team won gold at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, defeating Nigeria 1-0 in the final. Messi was the one who scored the single goal.
Brands are naturally attracted to athletes who are living stars of their respective fields. According to Forbes, Messi earns $27 million a year from his numerous sponsorship deals, which is about as high as his annual Barcelona income!
Gatorade is one of his main sponsors, and he regularly stars in advertisements with them, most recently with Luis Suarez in the lead-up to the 2018 World Cup. His most lucrative contract, though, is with Adidas, with whom he also has a soccer cleat collection. The contract is a yin to Cristiano Ronaldo's yang, as he has been backed by Adidas since the early days of his career.
Messi, on the other hand, has had his fair share of financial difficulties in the past. Messi and his father Jorge were convicted of tax evasion in Barcelona in 2016. They were also sentenced to jail (Lionel for 21 months, Jorge for 15), as well as fines (Lionel for €2 million, Jorge for €1.5 million). The jail terms, however, were limited to additional fines in 2017.
In Barcelona, in Lionel Messi's house, he is treated like royalty, and he has a home to match. The mansion, which Messi shares with his wife and three children and is located in Castelldefels, Barcelona, has a large lawn, a pool, and a football pitch. That's right, while living so close to the stadium where Barcelona plays, he made sure to have his own practice pitch on his farm.
Messi is an extremely straightforward person. He is a plain man who leads a modest life.
Despite this, he understands how to enjoy life to the fullest. Lionel Messi, as one of the world's wealthiest players, is prone to making lavish investments from time to time. He recently purchased a $35.5 million Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti. Apart from that, Messi is a very private person who enjoys spending time with his family and prefers to keep to himself. Leo Messi (@leomessi) is Lionel Messi's Instagram handle.
During the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic, Lionel Messi is said to have made a generous contribution of $1.1 million, which will be divided between a hospital Clinic in Catalunya and another health center in Argentina.
Lionel Messi has also founded the Leo Messi Foundation, which offers support and contributions to a variety of charities. In February of this year, the Leo Messi Foundation gave $218,000 to UNICEF Kenya programs. Along with David Beckham and Shakira, he has been appointed UNICEF's Goodwill Ambassador.
On the first birthday of his son Thiago Messi, Lionel Messi was participating in the 'Celebrate Life' campaign to raise consciousness about child mortality. Messi travelled to nations affected by natural disasters, hunger, illness, and a variety of other crushing socioeconomic drawbacks as UNICEF's envoy. The Leo Messi Foundation was also a sponsor of the Special Olympics in Catalunya, donating to dog-assisted training services for disabled children.
To combat blood cancer, the Leo Messi Foundation has teamed up with the Josep Carreras Leukemia Foundation. Messi requested donations to the Leo Messi Foundation rather than wedding gifts when he married Antonella Roccuzzo in 2017. This demonstrates Lionel Messi's goodness and compassion, as well as his desire to make the world a better place.
In 2013, Messi contributed €600,000 to help restore the Victor J Vilela Children's Hospital in his birthplace of Rosario, Argentina. The money was mostly used to restore the hospital's cancer section and pay for physicians to go to Barcelona for training.
Lionel Messi became La Liga's top scorer for the seventh time with 25 goals, a new record in the Spanish league's history.
In La Liga, Lionel Messi scored his 700th goal after scoring a penalty against Atletico Madrid. He entered the 700 club with Gerd Muller, Cristiano Ronaldo, Ferenc Puskas, Pele, Romario, and Josef Bican, among others.
It's no wonder that Messi is so excellent at setting up opportunities for his teammates to score goals. During the 2019-20 La Liga season, Messi generated a league-record 21 opportunities.
Messi was the first Argentinian and the first player to receive the Laureus Sportsman of the Year Award this year. Since the award's inception in 2016, Lewis Hamilton, Novak Djokovic, Roger Federer, and Usain Bolt have all received it.
On August 8, 2020, Messi scored the Champions League's goal of the season for the 2019-20 season against SSC Napoli in the round of 16 second leg.