Overview
- Bloomberg reported Saturday that Lionel Messi’s net worth has exceeded US$1 billion after the index counted salaries, taxes, investment returns, endorsements and business income.
- The report says Messi has earned more than US$700 million in salaries and bonuses since 2007, a core component of the total used to reach the billion-dollar mark.
- Messi’s Inter Miami contract included uncommon commercial terms—an option to buy club equity and a cut of MLS Season Pass subscriptions—that analysts and owners say boosted recurring revenue and the club’s value.
- In recent years Messi expanded into businesses and assets such as a listed REIT, a sports drink, restaurant investments and ownership stakes in several clubs including UE Cornellà.
- Despite joining the select group of athlete billionaires he still sits well below the world’s richest people, showing how top sports wealth is shaped more by long-term equity and brand deals than by playing pay alone.