Published 13:52 IST, September 15th 2020
Barcelona icon Lionel Messi becomes second BILLIONAIRE footballer after Cristiano Ronaldo
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi became only the second footballer to cross the $1 billion mark through career earnings, after nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo.
- SportFit
- 3 min read
Six-time Ballon d'Or winner Lionel Messi has become only the second billionaire footballer after arch-rival Cristiano Ronaldo achieved the feat earlier this year. Messi has now reportedly earned over $1 billion in pre-tax earnings throughout the course of his stellar career. The Barcelona captain also pipped competition from Ronaldo to retain the top spot as the world's highest-paid footballer in 2020.
Lionel Messi billionaire: Barcelona talisman becomes second footballer to rake in over $1bn in career earnings
According to reports from Forbes, Lionel Messi is the highest-earning footballer in 2020. The Argentine is reportedly set to earn a whopping $126million (€106m) this year. Messi's career earnings for 2020 are divided between his Barcelona salary of $92m (€78m) and an additional $34m (€28m) through endorsements. In addition to Lionel Messi's boot deal with Adidas, the 33-year-old is also sponsored by Pepsi, AI-vision company OrCam Technologies and most recently released a limited edition Budweiser beer.
Lionel Messi also managed to overtake nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo with his career earnings for 2020. Earlier this year, Forbes revealed that Cristiano Ronaldo became the first footballer to cross the $1bn mark through career earnings. However, it was reported that Ronaldo, second on Fobes' list, is on course to earn $117m (€98m) this year. Ronaldo is the most followed athlete on Instagram and Twitter and also has sponsorship deals with Nike and Herbalife.
Third on the list is PSG superstar Neymar, who is due to earn a reported $96m (€80m) this year. The Brazilian recently signed a lucrative deal with Puma after his contract with Nike came to an end. Neymar's PSG teammate Kylian Mbappe took fourth place on the list and is set to earn $42million (€35m) this year. Liverpool's Mohamed Salah came in fifth place. The Egyptian is expected to earn $37million (€31m) this year thanks to his deals with Adidas and Vodafone Egypt. Paul Pogba, Antoine Griezmann, Gareth Bale, Robert Lewandowski and David de Gea make up the top 10.
Lionel Messi net worth details: Messi transfer saga
According to reports from Goal, Lionel Messi's net worth stands at $400 million (€336m). Messi is the highest-earning player in LaLiga and earns a reported $610,000-a-week (€565,000-a-week) through his contract at Barcelona. Messi's current contract with Barcelona expires in June 2021. Lionel Messi handed in his transfer request a few weeks ago but eventually opted to stay put at the Camp Nou after Barcelona revealed that any suitor will have to pay Messi's $825m (€700m) release clause to lure him away.
The Lionel Messi net worth information has been sourced from the above-mentioned sources. This website does not guarantee 100% accuracy of the Messi net worth figure.
Image Credits - Leo Messi Instagram
Updated 13:52 IST, September 15th 2020