At 38, with a World Cup winners’ medal, eight Ballons d’Or, and now a billion-dollar fortune, Lionel Messi has accomplished everything — and then some.
He chose Miami over money. He chose legacy over a quicker path to wealth. And in the end, he got both.
As he prepares to lead Argentina into what is almost certainly his final World Cup, Messi does so not as a man chasing validation, but as one who ran out of things to prove years ago.
He is simply adding commas to a sentence already written in gold.
Billionaire status,
Forbes estimates the Argentine superstar’s net worth at $1.1 billion as of June 5, 2026, making him one of only four athletes to reach ten-figure wealth while still active in their sport.
The 38-year-old Inter Miami playmaker is also one of two newly crowned athlete billionaires set to compete at this year’s World Cup — the other being his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo — adding yet another layer of distinction to one of football’s most decorated careers.
The path to a billion dollars
Messi’s fortune, according to Forbes, has been built “primarily from cash accumulation and appreciation throughout his career,” as well as team equity included in his landmark MLS contract.
When his Paris Saint-Germain contract ended in 2023, Messi faced a choice: follow Ronaldo to Saudi Arabia for a tax-free fortune, or join Major League Soccer in the United States.
He chose Miami.
That decision delayed his entry into the billionaire’s club. But it also secured something perhaps more valuable — an ownership stake in Inter Miami that continues to appreciate as the league grows. As club owner Jorge Mas revealed to Bloomberg, through various mechanisms including his ownership shares, Messi takes home between $70 million and $80 million annually.
MLS’s highest earner
Messi signed a three-year contract extension with Inter Miami through the 2028 season in October 2025, just before leading the club to its first MLS Cup title. His current base salary stands at $25 million, with guaranteed compensation of $28.3 million — making him by far the highest-paid player in American top-flight history.
When additional revenue from his MLS-related deal with Adidas and profit-sharing from Apple TV’s broadcast agreement are factored in, Messi’s annual earnings reached approximately $135 million in 2025, a figure expected to rise further in 2026 due to World Cup endorsements.
The Ronaldo comparison
Messi’s great rival reached the billion-dollar milestone first. Bloomberg reported that Ronaldo’s net worth surpassed $1 billion in the fall of 2025, propelled by a world-leading $235 million tax-free annual salary from Saudi Arabian club Al Nassr. Forbes now estimates Ronaldo’s net worth at $1.2 billion.
The Portuguese superstar is expected to earn $300 million overall in 2026, making him the highest-paid sportsperson in the world. Messi, by comparison, earned approximately $140 million over the past year — but remains football’s “king of endorsements” with roughly $70 million in annual off-field income.
Together, Messi and Ronaldo are the first active players across team sports to become billionaires. Other footballers have achieved this only in retirement — including Inter Miami co-owner David Beckham, who received the billionaire tag last month, 13 years after his playing career ended.
Beyond the pitch: A business empire grows
Messi’s wealth is not built on salary and endorsements alone. The Argentine has quietly assembled a diverse business portfolio that extends far beyond football.
Through his real estate investment trust, Edificio Rostower Socimi — which he listed on a Spanish exchange in 2025 with a €223 million valuation — Messi owns office buildings, parking garages, and the MiM Hotels brand operating in Ibiza, Mallorca, and other Spanish cities.
In May 2026, Rostower acquired the former Via Wagner shopping centre in Barcelona for €11.5 million ($13.5 million). The 43,000-square-foot property had sat shuttered for more than three decades. Messi now plans to renovate and lease it.
Weeks earlier, he also acquired fifth-division Spanish football club Unió Esportiva Cornellà, based just outside Barcelona — the city he called home from age 12.
On this side of the Atlantic, Messi and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo purchased a 10,500-square-foot, eight-bedroom estate in Fort Lauderdale’s Bay Colony for $10.8 million in late 2023.
The World Cup factor
Messi’s participation in the 2026 World Cup — which he recently confirmed after a simple text exchange with Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni — carries financial implications not just for him, but for his club.
FIFA has established a $355 million fund to compensate clubs for each player called up, a significant increase from the $200 million allocated for Qatar 2022. Inter Miami will collect $5,000 for every day one of its called-up players spends at the tournament.
If Argentina reach the final again, Messi alone could earn the Herons approximately $285,000. Add Inter Miami teammates Rodrigo De Paul (Argentina) and Dayne St. Clair (Canada), and the total could approach half a million dollars.
What is left?
What is left for a man who has won everything?
He has conquered World Cups, Ballons d’Or, and the hearts of football fans across every continent. He has lifted the Copa América, the Champions League, the Olympics, and every domestic trophy Europe could offer. By any reasonable measure, his legacy was sealed the moment he hoisted the World Cup trophy in Qatar in December 2022.
There was nothing more to achieve.
And yet, the Argentine superstar has done what he has always done: he keeps adding to the story.
— MyJoyOnline Sports
