Lionel Messi has reportedly joined David Beckham in football’s billionaire club, and his move to Inter Miami now looks even smarter in hindsight.
According to Bloomberg, the Inter Miami captain has surpassed the $1bn mark after nearly three years in the United States with the MLS club.
Advertisement
What stands out is that Messi did not simply accept a late-career payday. He chose a project that offered not just a salary, but also commercial leverage and long-term business opportunities.
Messi’s Inter Miami move was never just about salary
Photo by Chris Arjoon/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images
Messi could have used MLS as a final stop. Instead, his move now looks like one of the shrewdest business decisions of his career.
Inter Miami managing owner Jorge Mas has said Messi earns around $70m to $80m per year when the full package is included.
That figure goes well beyond a standard playing wage. Messi’s move to MLS also came with Apple and Adidas-linked commercial deals, setting it apart from a typical player contract.
Advertisement
That is the key. Messi did not just join Inter Miami. He became part of the club’s growth story.
He has since extended his stay, with MLS confirming his contract runs through 2028.
David Beckham already proved why Inter Miami could change everything
Beckham’s presence makes Messi’s milestone even more significant.
David and Victoria Beckham were listed with a combined fortune of £1.185bn in the 2026 Sunday Times Rich List.
That figure highlights how powerful Inter Miami has become as a business. Beckham did not get richer because MLS stayed small. He got richer because the club and league grew into something far bigger.
Advertisement
Messi has now reached the same financial tier, albeit through a different path. Beckham did it through ownership. Messi did it through playing power, brand strength and commercial demand.
That is why the comparison works. Inter Miami is the common link between two very different billionaire stories.
Saudi money was bigger, but Miami offered something different
The easiest route to wealth would have been Saudi Arabia.
Before joining Inter Miami in 2023, Messi had reported offers from Saudi clubs worth hundreds of millions per year.
That path would have delivered the biggest immediate salary, and from the outside, it would have been the obvious choice.
Advertisement
But Miami offered more than just money. It provided access to the US sports market, global streaming, Adidas merchandise and a reported future ownership stake.
That wider structure is why the billionaire milestone changes how the move should be viewed.
Inter Miami has become the real winner of the Messi effect
Messi’s billionaire status is personal, but the impact on Inter Miami is wider.
The club is now valued at about $1.45bn, making it one of the clearest examples of how one player can change a team’s commercial profile.
That does not mean Messi alone created all of Inter Miami’s value. Beckham, Mas and the wider ownership group built the platform first.
Advertisement
But Messi gave that platform global scale. Tickets, shirts, sponsors, streaming interest and international attention all grew after his arrival.
This is more than just a rich footballer becoming richer. Messi helped make the asset around him more valuable while building his own wealth.
Messi chose the smarter long-term play
Messi did not pick the simplest financial path when he moved to Inter Miami.
He chose a route with more moving parts, and that decision now looks smarter than ever.
Beckham showed what MLS ownership could become. Messi has shown what the right player, in the right market, with the right commercial backing, can still achieve at the end of a legendary career.
Advertisement
The Saudi money may have been bigger on paper. But Miami offered something more valuable than a final contract: a business platform that has now helped Messi join football’s billionaire club.
Read more:
