VERY few people, and especially very few journalists, can claim to know the ‘real’ Lionel Messi. But it seems clear that the soon to turn 32-year-old’s all round control of games is being matched by a similar maturity off the pitch.
Messi’s double strike and general performance against Liverpool at the Camp Nou last week helped Barca come through a tough test to take control of their Champions League semi-final, ahead of Tuesday’s second leg at Anfield.
That was not Messi’s only act of leadership that night however, with the blaugrana number 10 using his first goal celebration to make a statement to his own team’s fans, and again after the game publicly criticising the “ugly” whistling of his teammate Philippe Coutinho.“We must support each other and stick together for the rest of the season,” Messi said on Spanish TV. “It's ugly to treat a player like that.”
Leo #Messi ⚽️
Anfield#ForçaBarça pic.twitter.com/tdy69NYPVu
— FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_id) May 7, 2019
2018/19 started with the new club captain making a now prophetic looking statement of intent from the Camp Nou pitch, when he set regaining the “beautiful” Champions League trophy as his main priority. While not changing a policy of rarely talking to the media, mandatory post-game interviews through the season have often been used to ensure Barca's players and fans do not get distracted from that goal.
It all fits with Messi taking even more responsibility on his shoulders, having reached a stage where he is more comfortable in his own-skin and sure in everything that he does. Anybody who follows him on social media will be familiar with the happy father of Thiago, Mateo and Ciro, husband of Antonella and owner of Hulk. He's also increasingly now taking on a role as the leader of his family – having put tax issues involving his father behind him and looking to help out his brothers too.
A twist along the road was when Messi and his father Jorge were found guilty of a €4.1 million ‘image rights’ tax fraud in July 2016, fined €3.6 million and given suspended jail sentences. In contrast to some equally high profile peers, the family did not fight the charges in court and seemed to learn from the experience.
Jorge still manages his son’s business affairs, with all their taxes apparently now in order. Forbes say that the Messi ‘brand’ was worth 111 million dollars in 2018 due to his many sponsorship deals. ‘Naming rights’ have also been sold for a ‘Messi Experience Park’ scheduled to open next year in Nanjing, while the Cirque du Soleil got permission to produce an acrobatic show based on his life story.
Is Messi going to surpass his previous record of 14 goals in a single UEFA Champions League campaign?#UCL pic.twitter.com/1tV4Eevbyz
— SuperSport (@SuperSportTV) May 7, 2019
Closer to home Messi has been preparing more traditional means of consolidating his wealth in ways not reliant so much on his on-pitch fame. His property company MiM recently bought a third hotel, the four star Sea Sun Fona Mallorca, to join his other similar properties in Ibiza and Sitges.
It is striking how the hotel websites do not trade off the player’s name, and day to day management and promotion is done by Spain's Majestic Hotel Group and American brand Preferred Hotels. “It's Messi’s hotel, but it does not seem like a footballer’s hotel,” a guest of the MiM Sitges told Madrid-based business publication Expansion last year, a comment which says more about the guest’s views on footballers than the hotel itself.
Messi’s experience in the tourism industry seemed important when he accompanied Barca's premier businessman Gerard Pique to the announcement of the defender’s investment in FC Andorra recently. A hotel has been purchased in the principality, to house players brought to the club, while Messi is reportedly actively involved in plans to bring the currently fifth tier team up through the divisions.
Messi has also been helping his family with other business interests. His sister Maria Sol and oldest brother Rodrigo opened a restaurant in Barcelona city centre two years ago. Run in partnership with well established Grup Iglesias, it had a heavy football theme, with tables decked out like pitches, tactics diagrams decorating the walls and TVs showing games. Last October it was closed to the general public and ‘repurposed’ as a venue for private events, in an apparent bid to maintain a business not turning a profit.
What. A. Goal!
THAT Messi free-kick again & again…#UCL | @FCBarcelona pic.twitter.com/qW3DUVGuTJ
— UEFA Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) May 7, 2019
Older brother Matias appears the black sheep of the family, having been in regular trouble with the police in Argentina over the last decade. Last August he got his own suspended jail sentence having been found guilty of firearms charges. The family has circled around however, with no public breach ever apparent.
The Leo Messi Foundation has also come through some issues with Spain's tax authorities, but continues to help children in Catalonia, Argentina and elsewhere when spending its money. A recent project is involvement in a 400-bed SJD Pediatric Center de Barcelona, the biggest children’s cancer centre in Europe, which is within walking distance of the Camp Nou.
It is perhaps a leap to draw a straight line between Messi’s now well organised off-pitch life, and his ever greater achievements on the football pitch. But it does all look connected.
