What you really don't know about Lionel Messi, the world's highest paid player and how he spend his cash

Lionel Messi is currently know to be the world best player and also the second highest-paid athlete in the world — after fellow footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, according to Forbes. For one of the richest sportsmen ever, Messi is surprisingly private — preferring to let his football skills do the talking.

But no-one earns that much money without using some of it.


Keep scrolling to see what Barcelona and Argentina's greatest player spends his hard-earned cash on:
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Messi made $81.4 million (£56.1 million) last year, the most of any sportsman apart from Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured on the right).

Messi made $81.4 million (£56.1 million) last year, the most of any sportsman apart from Cristiano Ronaldo (pictured on the right).
Gonzalo Arroyo Moreno/Getty Images

Source: Forbes
His new contract with Barcelona will be worth £583,000 ($826,500) A WEEK from next season.

Getty Images Sport

Source: The Sun


He makes just as much off the field, earning $28 million ($20 million) in endorsements.
Google Play Store

Source: Forbes
Adidas is his biggest sponsor, paying him more than $10 million million (£7 million) per year.

Adidas / YouTube

Source: Forbes
He also has deals with Gillette, EA, PepsiCo and Tata Motors, among others.

YouTube

Source: Forbes
Messi is so valuable to Barcelona that if he ever leaves, the club that buys him will have to pay a $340 million (£240 million) buy out.

Albert Gea / Reuters

Source: ESPN
Despite his incredibly wealth, Messi lives a relatively private life.

Samsung
He does enjoy driving around in his $240,000 (£170,000) Maserati GranTurismo MC Stradale.

Thesupermat / Wikipedia

Source: AutoAdvance.org
And he's been known to take the occasional private plane, like when he went to the Ballon d'Or gala in Zurich.

Messi rarely makes the news for anything other than football, but he was recently in court for allegedly not paying enough taxes.

Alex Caparros / Getty Images

Source: Business Insider
But otherwise, he's a pretty low-key guy.

Source: ESPN
Here's his long-time girlfriend, Antonella Roccuzzo.

David Ramos/Getty Images
The two grew up in the same town in Argentina. They have been in a relationship since 2008.

Source: ESPN
Here are their two sons, Thiago and Mateo.

Messi even has their names on his boots.

David Ramos/Getty Images
The family has been a staple of Barcelona's title celebrations.

Denis Doyle / Getty Images
We get the occasional glimpse into Messi's lavish side, like when he wore a polka-dot suit to an awards ceremony.


Christof Koepsel/Getty Images
Or when he got a private meeting with the pope, himself a huge soccer fan.

Claudio Villa/Getty Images
Or when he agreed to have a gold cast of his foot made and sold to support Japanese tsunami relief (it went for $5 million).

YouTube

Source: CNN
But unlike other modern athletes, he's not actively concerned with using his personal life to grow his brand. His Instagram is pretty chill.

This is probably the wildest picture.

In a weird way, the mystery of Messi probably helps him.

Harold Cunningham/Getty Images

Since we know virtually nothing of Messi off the field, we focus solely on his brilliance on the field.

David Ramos / Getty Images
Unlike Ronaldo, his closest rival, Messi is only judged as a soccer player, not a person.

REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann
Hooray for Messi.

Denis Doyle/Getty

Source: http://www.businessinsider.com/lionel-messi-has-an-amazing-life