Lionel Messi Net Worth 2020

The 33 years old football player, Lionel Messi has earned himself a lot of success in his football career. He is currently the highest-paid athlete with a net worth surpassing that of Ronaldo and Neymar. He earned his net worth while playing as a striker and a winger for the Spanish football team, Barcelona and the Argentina National Team. Lionel Messi is usually regarded as the best football player as a result of his exceptional skills and ability. In addition to this, he is currently clamoring for the highest title in the sport, the Greatest Footballer of All Time (GOAT). 

Messi's Early life

Lionel Messi hails from Argentina. He was born into a very humble family where his father worked with a steel company while his mother worked with a company that produces magnets. However, Messi's likeness for football started as a family thing. His family, including his brothers and cousins, loves football. He started playing the sport at a very tender age and joined Grandoli at a tender age of 4. He played with the team till age 6 after which he joined another team, Newell’s Old Boys. It was here that Messi started showcasing his exceptional goal-scoring skills. In fact, in his first 6 years with the team, he scored 500 goals. 

However, his career was threatened with a growth hormone that exceeds his parents' financial capacity. His team Newell’s Old Boys offered to pay for his treatment but later backed down. Later, an Argentinean club, River Plate offered to pay for his treatment but could not because of the country's economic situation. Messi was later rescued by Barcelona after impressing the director with his first performance. The team paid his bills and took him up from here.

When Messi got to Spain, he became very homesick but with time, he made friends with other football players like Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique. 

After his growth hormone treatment, in the 2002/2003 season, Messi gave a remarkable performance which earned him the team the league's top scorer. 

Lionel Messi Football Career

At 18, Messi started his football career when he signed his first professional contract with Barcelona. Although before then he had been playing irregularly for the team. During his days as an irregular player, his skills caught the attention of amazing players like Ronaldo who later became friends with him. 

Messi's first contract with Barcelona earned him €150 million. In his first few seasons, he became a player to reckon with. In fact, his goal-scoring skills were rated the same with the Argentinean legend, Diego Maradona.

Messi's Ballon d’Or award record.

In 2009, Messi won his maiden Ballon d’Or. From 2010 to 2012, he won three FIFA Ballon d'Or. His four consecutive wins earned him the first player in history to win 4 Ballon d’Or. Also, his skills, ability, and excellence catapulted him into a football legend and made people start comparing him to the likes of Pele. Messi has won the Ballon d’Or 6 times.

Messi also won the 2014 FIFA World Cup Golden Ball and European Golden Shoe.  After performing in the 2015 season, Messi emerged as the league’s all-time top scorer. Next, he led his football club, Barcelona to a second continental treble and won. The team became the first to achieve this feat. After this, Messi won another Ballon d'Or, which made it his fifth Ballon d'Or award.

Lionel Messi Weekly Salary

Messi did not earn any continental glory from 2016 to 2019. Irrespective of this, he still remains a valuable asset to his club. In fact, his weekly earnings of $667,000 as of 2017, moved from $357 million to $857 million. 

However, while Messi is a force to reckon with at the club level, this is not the same in Europe. His lack of success here made his rival Cristiano Ronaldo who was a player with Real Madrid emerge with three consecutive UEFA Champions League titles. Ronaldo also emerged as the winner of the Ballon d’Or and Best FIFA Men’s Player Award with Messi in the runner spot. 

In 2018, neither Messi nor Ronaldo made the Ballon d’Or and Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. Messi made up for his loss in the following year by leading the league as a captain and also winning his sixth European Golden Boot award. Also in the same year, he won another Ballon d'Or and the Best FIFA Men’s Player Award. 

Messi's Net Worth

Today, Lionel Messi is one of the richest players in the world with a net worth of  $400 million. Although a huge percentage of his success is gotten from his career, he also has different deals and endorsements that added up to his net worth. One of these is his deal with Adidas. 

According to Forbes, Messi currently earned $127 million and is the highest-paid athlete player in the world

Legend Lionel Messi Salary breakdown

In 2019, before tax deduction, Messi earns a base salary of $92 million per year. When his entitlements from his different endorsement were added to the money, his annual income became $127 million. This made him the highest-paid athlete.

However, with the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, he agreed to the salary deduction and earned $50 million from his football career.

Endorsements and deals

Messi has a long list of endorsements including deals with Pepsi Co, Huawei, MasterCard, and Gatorade. He also has other endorsements with Jacob & Co, where he markets their $28,000 wristwatch, and another with MGO, a clothing line. In 2019, his endorsements were calculated as $35 million. 

Lionel Messi's Family

Messi has been in a relationship with his childhood friend Antonella Roccuzzo who is a cousin to his childhood best friend Lucas Scaglia. The two had three sons named Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro.