Lionel Messi is a professional soccer player and is hailed as one of the greatest players of all time. Read more about this living legend’s career and Lionel Messi net worth.
Before we get into the details of the legend that is Messi, let’s clear some terminologies first. The sport where the likes of Julian Edelman and Reggie Bush are known is referred to as American Football. In the 1880s, the University of Oxford defined the game as “rugger” or rugby football.
Soccer, on the other hand, was originally named “association football”. Then the term was shortened until the sport was simply known as soccer.
The seven-time Ballon d’Or winner started his career in 1992 and has grown at par with the man FIFA once declared as the ”greatest”, Edson Arantes do Nascimento, known as Pelé.
As of the current year, Lionel Messi net worth is $450 million. It is not at all surprising for an athlete of his caliber. But who was Messi before he became a legend?
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Lionel Messi – Short Bio
Lionel Andres Messi was born on June 24, 1987, in the largest city in Argentina, Rosario, Santa Fe. As his family nicknamed him, Leo is the third of four children. His father, Jorge, was a manager at a steel factory, and his mother, Celia, worked at a magnet manufacturing workshop.
The boy Leo had always been a fan of soccer. He would often play with his brothers, Rodrigo and Matías, and cousins, Maximiliano and Emanuel Biancucchi, who also went pro.
Everyone in the family knew of his love for the sport and that Lionel would join the big leagues one day. But his number-one fan had always been his maternal grandmother who was there in all his games. Unfortunately, she passed away too early in his life which still saddens him today.
When you see Messi pointing to the sky after every score, every victory, and personal achievement, the simple gesture is him paying tribute to the great woman.
Lionel Messi’s Career
The Messi family was a close-knit family that bonded over football. At the age of four, Leo was already scoring points at the Grandoli Football Club. His father was there to coach him, with other clan members in tow, to support their little superstar.
Then at age six, Messi became a member of the Newell’s Old Boys sports club, where he played for “The Machine of 87.” The team name pertains to the birth year of all its players. In the six years he played at the club, Leo scored no less than 500 goals, which helped them become the dominating team.
Newell’s Old Boys Club and Lionel Messi’s Childhood Condition
Before his grandmother passed, Messi was diagnosed with growth hormone deficiency. His condition almost cost him a future in sports because it kept Leo from growing as he should. The problem didn’t only affect him physically. The treatment was expensive as well.
Imagine a ten-year-old boy being told that his condition will keep him from playing soccer, then his grandmother, whom he’s very close to, passes away a few days before his eleventh birthday.
What made things worse was after the Newell’s Old Boys sports club promised to contribute to Leo’s treatment, they went back on their word, adding more hopelessness to the young Messi.
But the family refused to give up, and in 2000, they took a chance with the professional football club in Barcelona. Charly Rexach, the team’s coach, instantly saw the potential in the thirteen-year-old Mess, but the board was hesitant because Leo was too young to be signed.
The good news was Messi finally got the treatment he needed. There was a long awkward phase before he was finally able to integrate himself with the team and other members because first, he was a foreigner, then there was also the fact that Leo was a naturally reserved boy.
Things started moving fast for Lionel. By December of 2000, Barcelona signed Leo into the club. Then in February 2001, the whole family moved to Barcelona near the club’s stadium, Camp Nou. Then by 2002, Lionel Messi was officially enrolled in the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
That very year in 2002, Leo was finally done with his treatment. And the moment he was given a chance to prove his real worth to the club, he went far beyond everyone’s expectations.
He became the key player for Baby Dream Team, Barcelona’s greatest-ever youth side. During the 2002-2003 season, Messi was the top scorer of the season, playing for the Cadettes. He also led the 4-1 victory against club Espanyol, a professional football club based in Cornella, Spain.
At the end of the season, he was offered to join Arsenal Football Club, a professional football club based in Islington, London, England. Despite the lucrative offer, Messi chose to remain with Barcelona and only wished the best for his friends, Fabregas and Pique, who took the offer.
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Messi’s First Season as a Senior and the €150 Million Buyout Offer
Upon turning eighteen in 2010, Messi signed his senior contract with Barcelona, the new agreement may have been shorter than his previous deal, but Messi’s buyout price went up to €150 million. Again, Messi proved he well deserved the incomprehensible offer.
Messi’s pre-season performance riled up the spectators of the Camp Nou stadium, leading to a standing ovation for the eighteen-year-old Messi during the match against Italy’s Juventus.
While Juventus’ manager requested to borrow Messi for his team, Inter Milan was willing to pay the €150 million buyout clause with the promise of tripling Messi’s salary.
But again, Leo proved loyal to the club of Barcelona and chose to stay with his team.
Lionel Messi Net Worth – Career Highlights
- At 17-years old, Messi entered the field as a substitute totaling 244 minutes from nine matches, including his debut in the UEFA Champions League against Shakhtar Donetsk.
- At 19, Messi was already considered one of the best footballers in the world. He was injured in 2006, which benched him for three months, though he recovered in time for the Champions League against Liverpool. Unfortunately, Barcelona had already been eliminated.
- Messi is also hailed as the second coming of Diego Maradona, the Argentine soccer player who made headlines in the 1986 FIFA World Cup for making the Goal of the Century. Messi replicated the shot by running 66 yards, going past five defenders, and scoring with an angled finish.
- In 2007, Messi replaced Ronaldinho as the key figure of Barca (FC Barcelona). And in recognition of his exemplary performance for that campaign, Messi was voted the third-best player in the world, with Portuguese player Cristiano Ronaldo taking second place and Brazilian pride, Kaka, taking the top spot.
- In 2008, Messi became the highest-paid player of Barca after renewing the soccer player’s contract with a €7.8 million annual salary.
- Messi suffered from frequent muscle injuries that left him benched for months. Barcelona resorted to a complete overhaul of their fitness regimens and diet and even assigned Leo a 24/7 personal physiotherapist. The drastic move greatly improved Leo’s health and overall performance.
- Messi led FC Barcelona through an uninterrupted season of 2008-2009, achieving the club’s first treble in Spanish football. Messi was also awarded his first Ballon d’Or on December 1st, 2009.
- The first rumor of Messi leaving Barca was in 2015. This was eventually thwarted after Barcelona’s best striker led another historical victory, alongside Suarez and Neymar, with 122 goal scores in a single season.
- Messi set the La Liga and European records for most goals scored in a single season while establishing himself as Barcelona’s all-time top scorer.
- Because they couldn’t afford Messi’s increasing salary, which was at $675 million in 2020, the greatest player in the world finally left FC Barcelona after twenty years of being part of the club.
- Messi finally left FC Barcelona and signed with Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021 and made his debut with the team the following month.
- On 9 September, Messi scored a hat-trick in a 3–0 home win over Bolivia in a 2022 World Cup qualifier which also moved him above Pelé as South America’s top male international scorer with 79 goals.
Lionel Messi Net Worth – Frequently Asked Questions
How Much is Lionel Messi Net Worth?
Lionel Messi net worth is estimated at $450 million as of the current year. His career began with FC Barcelona in 2000 at the very young age of fourteen. He finally left in 2021 for Paris Saint-Germain after a fallout with the club’s new management and Barca virtually unable to afford his salary.
Who is Richer, Messi, or Ronaldo?
Lionel Messi net worth of $450 million makes him the second richest football player in the world. The top spot goes to Cristiano Ronaldo with $500 million.
How MUch Does Lionel Messi Make a Day?
Messi receives a basic wage of €40.56 million annually from Paris Saint-Germain. This computes to €780,000 per week and €11,428 per day.
Lionel Messi Net Worth – Final Thoughts
It just makes you wonder how Newell’s Old Boys and the other football clubs reacted while they listened from the sidelines to Messi’s growing success. To think that the boy they abandoned grew to become a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner. A title that says he is the best of the best in the world, times seven.
But regrets shouldn’t be the focus of attention when reading a truly inspiring story of success like Lionel Messi’s life and career. It should be how his family never gave up, and young Leo did his part to prove that he was worth every dime and opportunity that FC Barcelona laid in his path.
So, “You are worth it.” It’s normal to be scared or worried and be a little hopeless in the face of complete uncertainties. But when a chance presents itself, no matter how small, make sure to prove that you are worth it because it can lead to something bigger, better, and life-changing.
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