Lionel Messi joins Cristiano Ronaldo in football’s billionaire club | OneFootball

Lionel Messi has become a billionaire, joining Cristiano Ronaldo in football’s most exclusive wealth bracket. The Inter Miami and Argentina captain’s fortune now exceeds $1 billion.

According to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, the 38-year-old has earned more than $700 million (£521m) in salary and bonuses since 2007, and his net worth has passed $1 billion.

This puts him alongside Ronaldo, who became the first footballer to reach the mark after moving to Al-Nassr in 2023. Messi turned down a $400m (£298m) annual offer from the Saudi Pro League, saying: “Money was never a problem for me, nor an obstacle in anything. If it had been about money, I would have gone to Saudi Arabia or somewhere else,” he told Mundo Deportivo.

His move to Major League Soccer has proved lucrative. Owner Jorge Mas has said Messi earns $70m to $80m a year from Inter Miami with equity options and Apple TV revenue sharing, and the club is valued at $1.45 billion.

Under the guidance of his father, Jorge, and banker Alfonso Nebot Armisen, he has broadened into property and consumer goods. In 2024 he listed a Spanish real estate investment trust worth $232m (£173m).

He has also invested in clubs, including Spanish fifth-tier Cornella and Uruguay’s Deportivo LSM, while his family runs Los Leones in Rosario. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner said last year in Miami: “Football has an expiry date. Business is something I like, and I am learning about.”

Source: Goal.com