Now that you’ve read how Cristiano Ronaldo spends his millions, let’s take a look at some of the grandest expenses of the world’s highest-paid footballer: Lionel Messi. At $646,000 a week and a net worth of $450 million, the magician surely owns a few nice things.
Car Collection
As usual, the footballers love their cars and Messi is no exception. He reportedly bought the most expensive car ever — 1957 Ferrari 335 Sport Spider Scaglietti — for $37 million at an auction. He also owns a two-seat Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale, an Audi R8 Spyder v10 plus, and a Ferrari F430 Spider.
Private Jet
Messi owns a $15 million luxury private jet, a 2004 Gulfstream V which he bought for his family to travel to and from Europe to South America. The plane seats sixteen people and also features two kitchens and two bathrooms, one which includes a shower. Personal touches include the number 10 featured on the airplane tail as well as his children’s names on each of the plane’s steps.
Chinese Theme Park
Messi launched his own 42,000-square-meter theme park in Nanjing, China, called The Messi Experience Park. Visitors can immerse themselves in the latest and greatest technology and experience all things Messi.
Homes
With an amazing view of the Catalan mountains and beach access, Messi owns a mansion in Bellamar just outside Barcelona. The house includes a football pitch (obviously), plus a theater and a spa.
The magician also bought a luxury Miami condo floor for more than $7 million in 2021. That’s because the Barca legend made a star-studded move to David Beckham’s Inter Miami after leaving PSG. In September 2023, Messi upgraded to an $11 million 10,500-square-foot mansion in the exclusive Bay Colony neighborhood.
Tax Fraud
When Messi isn’t splashing the cash on expensive cars and houses, he may owe hundreds of thousands of dollars for tax fraud. In 2017, the Spanish courts fined Messi and his father €252,000 and €180,000 respectively for avoiding €4.1m in taxes between 2007 and 2009.
Charity
He may make millions of dollars a year, but Messi is also very generous. In 2015, he donated £315,000 to children’s charity UNICEF. He’s also donated 4.2 million Argentine pesos to help refugee kids from Syria and had a gold cast made his foot which auctioned for $5 million to support Japanese tsunami relief.
In March 2022, Messi gifted 35 gold iPhones (priced at $3,200 a piece) to the entire Argentina squad and staff members.
Boutique shoe store in Barcelona
Happy wife, happy life. The wives of both Messi and Luis Suarez teamed up to open up a boutique shoe store in the Barcelona city center. Their old teammate Cesc Fabregas was there to celebrate the store’s opening.
Vacation
In the summer of 2016, Messi spent 7800 euros per day to vacation in Ibiza on a yacht. One dedicated fan swam half a mile to greet him. Totally worth it.
Messi returned to Ibiza in the summer of 2022 with pals Cesc Fabregas, Ander Herrera, and Angel Di Maria.
Fashion
Messi is not known for having the savviest fashion sense but this expensive Dolce Gabbana black silk tuxedo with polka dots he wrote for his 2013 Golden Ball ceremony was on point.
Tattoos
Sometimes Messi likes to surprise people, like when he wore that Polka dot suit to the Golden Ball ceremony. But he took it another level when he got tattoos on his arms and legs, a step up from a somewhat dry persona.
BBQ Cookouts
All in all, Lionel Messi appears to be a chill person off the field, spending time with family and friends. He also likes to make BBQ, such as he did after winning the El Clasico.
Photo: Instagram/leomessi
