How Lionel Messi makes money from brand image: One post earns hundreds of millions of dollars, participating in a MV is only a small part

Superstar Lionel Messi has earned hundreds of millions of dollars from activities outside of football.

Lionel Messi is one of the best-earning sports athletes in the world. According to Forbes, by 2023 the Argentine superstar will have pocketed a total of 1.28 billion USD. It is estimated that half of this comes from off-field activities.

We will find out how Messi has made money from his brand image.

Sponsorship deal

In one of its articles, Insider once listed 10 major brands that Messi has signed sponsorship contracts with, ranging from drinks, sportswear, cars to watches. World Trademark even revealed that Messi has collaborated with 136 different brands.

Notably, Messi’s lifetime contract with Adidas. Although details of the contract were not announced, Insider estimates that the Argentine superstar will pocket about 25 million USD each year from this brand.

Sources from Forbes said that last year, Messi signed a cooperation contract with an online platform and received 20 million USD/year.

Messi has sponsorship contracts with a series of major brands

Posts on social networks (MXH)

Messi’s social media account has a large number of followers, among the top in the world. Promotional posts on these platforms are said to also bring in significant revenue for the Argentine superstar.

According to Hopper, Messi can pocket 2.597 million USD for each Instagram post, the second highest number currently only after superstar Cristiano Ronaldo.

Business activities

Fame also helps Messi more or less with his business. According to Marca, Messi has invested in hotel operations since 2017. It is known that this is a chain of 6 hotels under the MiM brand. However, Messi does not directly manage it but hires another unit to do this.

In addition, Messi also owns his own fashion store called The Messi Store. Maria Sol – Messi’s younger sister – plays the role of brand director for this chain of stores. Some product lines Messi himself models and posts to promote on his personal page.

A hotel in the MiM chain invested by Messi

Act in movies, participate in MVs, appear at events

Messi had his first role in season 2 of the movie “The Guardian” broadcast last June. Next, the Argentine superstar appeared in singer Maluma’s music video. However, the costs of these activities remain confidential.

Most recently, Messi appeared briefly in singer Jack’s MV. In fact, these images were taken from the meeting between Jack and Messi last May.

Besides, Messi can also be paid to appear at some events. However, acting in movies or participating in music videos is not the main source of income and only accounts for a small part of the Argentine superstar’s income.

Messi’s total assets

According to Forbes, Messi’s assets are currently about 600 million USD. This number is expected to increase rapidly because the Argentine superstar has just signed a contract worth about 150 million USD with Inter Miami Club.

In the rankings published by Forbes not long ago, Messi pocketed 130 million USD in the period May 1, 2022 to May 1, 2023. Of which, 65 million USD was earned from non-football activities.