What he’s done on the pitch has earned Lionel Messi’s the title of being undoubtedly one of the greatest soccer players of all time, but what he’s done off the pitch has also made him one of the richest. Lionel Messi’s net worth is an estimated $400 million, making him one of the two highest-paid soccer stars in the world, second only to Cristiano Ronaldo. So how exactly did the Argentinian do it?
In a recent list of the world’s highest-paid soccer players, Forbes stated that Messi’s salary was a whopping $42 million. In 2017, his pay increased after former teammate Neymar left Barcelona to go to play for PSG. This took his massive wages off the books and the club was able to pay Lionel a significant amount more than they already were. UEFA has a wage spending recommendation and the club actually admitted that Messi’s new contract would put them over that, but insisted that they could afford it and pointed out that there technically no official salary cap. The buyout clause for this new contract was €700m, or around $758 million and it lasts until the 2020/2021 season.