The Insane Business of Lionel Messi

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⏱ Timestamps
00:00 Messi's Move to America
01:27 The Rise of Athlete Billionaires
05:13 How Did Messi Make His Money?
08:20 Messi’s Billion Dollar Plan

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Athletic Interest is a video essay series that investigates business stories from the world of sports.

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[lrlwbw]

"I'm not a businessman, I'm a Business, man!" - Messi World Champion 8 ballon d'or

[BenterKoux]

You forgot one key thing for the move into the MLS. Messi will be able to have his own franchise in the MLS. Just like Beckham. I think this might be the biggest reason why he went there.

[devanshtiwari]

Watched every single video within an hour of release.
Now that's loyalty towards Athletic Interest.

[intsik]

Messi's inability to speak english can also be one of the reasons why some of his investments or marketing are not kicking off.

[akashdeb]

The eagle screaming everytime the US Flag popped up killed me

[jonasdbtr]

1 min into the video and editor is already cooking 🦅🦅🦅

[hui]

Fun fact :Messi is also secretly learning English. You watch. In 15 years he'll speak English as good as Arnold swarzeneger

[bharatavarsha]

Each one of your videos is a case study in sports marketing industry.
Great videos as always.
Keep the good work coming, AI

[felix]

I think off the court/field Roger Federer is the best example of how an athlete increases his wealth!

[uros]

I'm a huge Messi fan, but honestly, he is not representative like Ronaldo is. He knows like 5 words in English and he's introverted. Those two reasons alone are enough for him not to succeed off the pitch.

[dai]

NFTS???? LMAOOO ITS SO OVER, DUDE GOT SCAMMED

[lawrence]

2 months ago Messi launched his own Energy drink, He'll keep launching businesses

[RyeLabs]

So basically athletes make a bunch of money in their athletic career but when they retire is when they REALLY start making money

[MrHamsterworld]

0:15 “Because he dared to be injured”

That’s a very unfair representation of what Messi did in Hong Kong.

At no point before the match did Inter Miami or Messi say that he was injured. Even at halftime, the organisers were reassured by Inter Miami that Messi will play. The full-time whistle came and went, no Messi.

At the end of match ceremonies, the organiser asked if Messi could take the mic and say a few words - Messi inexplicably refused. He was sulking in the back through the entire photo ceremony, and also refused to take a picture holding a trophy with Hong Kong’s Chief Executive. 40, 000 people paid a lot of money to see Messi, and he showed no love back. Why didn’t he at least say a few words on the mic?

He played 60 minutes just two days afterwards in Japan by the way.

Just casual ignorance and racism from the Athletic, very disappointing.

[rocketable]

Athletic Interest bingo: Liverpool mentioned ✅

[kindface]

I've been a Messi fan since he burst into Barca's first team.
Now, some decade and a half later, I've seen more of him off the field than when he first started.
It pains me to say this, Messi will never reach Michael Jordan's height in wealth. He's too naive. He's a footballing GOAT but does not have the people acumen or business acumen. Shockingly, he sometimes doesn't even see clearly where his commercial potential is. His fan base in China dwarfs that of the US in numbers and in money potential. But his PR awkwardness presented him in the wrong optics with the Chinese people. I still can't believe in his mis-step there (in HK). I think a good part of his fan base and goodwill there has permanently evaporated into thin air. Kobe Bryant and now LeBron James have already shown the way into the heart of the Chinese fan base. But Messi had awkwardly tripped himself up there.

[mingmarlama]

I would be super happy even if I had just $1 million. But these rich people with billions of dollars are never happy and always want to earn more

[sumithkumar]

Fun fact: you can double tap a comment to like it.

[_orodrigofernandes]

Why go through all the burden of building companies when he can just live off his image for the rest of his life and still make tons of money?

Look at Ronaldinho

[masikwamahletshabalala]

I really love the way they introduce their videos just mcwa