Messi joins Ronaldo among billionaire athletes

Lionel Messi has joined Cristiano Ronaldo among billionaire athletes, according to Forbes estimates. His net worth is put at around $1.1 billion, or close to one billion euros. With that threshold, he is one of only four athletes to reach it during their active sporting careers, alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, LeBron James and Tiger Woods.

Across 20 years of playing, Messi’s gross earnings before taxes and fees reached about $1.8 billion. The largest share, $1.2 billion, came from sports contracts and salaries.

Over the course of his career, Messi has also built significant commercial ties: he has a lifetime deal with Adidas and works with Pepsi, Mastercard and Budweiser. Those partnerships sit alongside a sporting career whose earnings have extended well beyond salaries and sports contracts alone.

In his international career, Messi played 208 matches for Argentina, scoring 126 goals and providing 70 assists. He also announced his retirement from international football with the Argentina national team. In his last match, against Benin, Argentina won 3-0; Messi scored and supplied two assists. He then said he had given everything for the national team and that the time had come to give the younger generation its opportunity.