Taking to social media to lament his loss, Ross hinted that there was no way of competing with the World Cup winner, who in May was named the second-highest paid athlete in the world by Forbes. Messi is thought to have made £107m ($131m) in 2022 in an even split between on-field and off-field earnings during his final year at French giants Paris Saint-Germain . His MLS contract with new side Inter Miami is all-but unmatched by his peers in the league, combining a bumper payday with lucrative add-on deals with AppleTV and club sponsor Adidas.

‘I got outbid on the house I wanted,’ Ross said with regret as he shared details of the incident on social media. ‘I really wanted a house in Miami, so now I have to build my own house because it’s impossible to find a house that I like. And I got outbid by a very, very famous professional athlete, who is very rich. It’s nothing about me being broke. I just couldn’t get to there in time. I saw the house, but they were already in talks and all that. The professional athlete is Messi.’

Ross went on to suggest it was either Messi’s parents or grandparents the former Barcelona prodigy had purchased the house for, with a view to hosting family visiting from Argentina keen to watch the player in action at the David Beckham-owned club.

Whilst Ross was discreet about which house it was that he lost out on, in September Messi snapped up a property of the same value in nearby Fort Lauderdale.

The playmaker and his wife Antonela Roccuzzo had been spotted house-hunting in Boca Raton earlier in the summer, but eventually plumped for the 10-bedroom estate packed full of amenities.

As well as a number of rooms for guests, the house also features a spa room, a swimming pool, two boat docks, and nine bathrooms. Ross also claimed there was a ‘movie theatre’ and ‘a bunch of cool stuff’.

Messi is already the owner of a £7.3m ($8.9m) apartment in Miami in the exclusive Porsche Design Tower, which the player bought in 2019.

The 60-floor tower is situated between Bal Harbor and Aventura and is located 25 minutes away from the Inter Miami stadium. The apartment building features include private car-lifts for residents, a cinema, golf and racing simulators, and a private restaurant, as well as picturesque views of Miami and the ocean beyond.