Soccer
Lionel Messi’s $232m property empire is on the market
The Inter Miami star has amassed a huge personal fortune, much of which is carefully invested in a network of houses, shops, offices and seven hotels.
Lionel Messi’s vast real estate portfolio has been placed on a little-known Spanish stock market, allowing would-be investors to buy a piece of the Messi empire.
On December 30 the Edificio Rostower Socimi real estate investment trust (REIT), owned by Messi, was listed on Spain’s Portfolio Stock Exchange. The huge property portfolio includes seven Messi-owned hotels, along with three commercial spaces and several apartment units.
The share price was initially set at $58.89, giving the trust a total value of $232 million although it is yet to start trading. In the company’s filing Messi is listed as the chairman, while wife Antonela Roccuzzo is the vice president.
So, is Lionel Messi looking to make a bit of cash to supplement his lucrative Inter Miami contract? Unlikely. Front Office Sports reports that the move will allow Messi to reduce his tax burden in Spain.
REITs benefit from a lower rate of tax than most other Spanish companies and are able to circumvent the requirements to pay tax on profits. In fact, Messi’s Edificio Rostower Socimi was designated as an REIT just days after the Spanish government opted against raising taxes on the trusts.
What is Lionel Messi’s net worth?
Incredibly, the $232 million Spanish property empire is less than half of Messi’s total wealth. Forbes estimates the Argentine’s total net worth at around $600 million, the spoils of a 20-year career as one of the world’s most marketable athletes.
Even now, in the twilight of his career, Messi reportedly made an astonishing $135 million in 2024. That made him the world’s second-highest earning soccer player last year, while playing in MLS.
The 37-year-old’s Inter Miami contract is worth $20.5 million per season and he has banked huge sponsorship deals with the likes of Adidas, Mastercard and Pepsi. Across the course of his career he is thought to have earnt more than $1 billion, making him one of a small group of sportspeople who have hit that threshold.
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