Lionel Messi Is Moving to Miami – DIRT

After a stellar 17 seasons kicking and shooting for FC Barcelona, a lackluster couple of seasons at Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), and turning down a multibillion-dollar offer from Saudi Arabia, Argentinian soccer legend Lionel Messi says he’s headed to Inter Miami, the MLS club partly owned by David Beckham.

It’s a good bet the 36-year-old midfielder, who led his home country to an electrifying World Cup victory earlier this year, will seek out a major estate in the area. But in the meantime, he already owns at least three multimillion-dollar condos in Sunny Isles Beach, about 12 miles north of South Beach and some 20 miles south of Miami Inter’s home pitch, the DRV PNK Stadium in Fort Lauderdale.

Various reports and a deep dive into property records indicate Messi owns at least two units at the sybaritic Porsche Design Tower (above right), a sixty-story glass tower set right on the sand with a host of resort-style amenities and, its most famous amenity, a car elevator that lifts autos to private garages.

Messi bought the first unit, a 3,800-square-foot condo on one of the buildings’ lower floors, in early 2017 for $5.3 million. He didn’t have much interest in the condo, it seems, because listing records show the four-bedroom spread was on and off the market between the spring of 2018 and the end of last year for money-losing asking prices that waffled between $4.1 and $5.3 million. In 2019, the fleet-footed footballer plunked down another $5 million for a slightly smaller three-bedroom unit on one of the tower’s higher floors. Complete with a plunge pool on the ocean-facing balcony, the unit was offered as a fully furnished rental last year for $30,000 per month.

In May 2021, Messi and his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, figured they needed a bit more room for their family of five when they visited Miami — or maybe they were anticipating moving there — and splashed out $7.3 million for a fully furnished full-floor condo at the Regalia building (above left), also in Sunny Isles. Marketing material shows the 5,500-square-foot residence has four bedrooms, 5.5 bathrooms, a 1,000-bottle wine cabinet, and 2,100 square feet of private terracing with wrap-around views.

There are reports that Messi has also bought into the Bentley Residences in Sunny Isles Beach, another ultra-luxury tower that isn’t scheduled to be completed until 2026. It was built by Dezer Development, the same folks who built the Porsche Design Tower, and also has car elevators. There have been no closings in the building yet, but the wildly popular sports icon did do a paid promotion for the building to his 469 million Instagram followers last year.

As one of the highest-paid athletes on the planet — his PSG contract allowed him to earn up to $165 million a year, not counting his many lucrative endorsements — Messi’s international portfolio of homes is commensurate with his income.