SUMMARY
- Lionel Messi is one of the Highest paid athletes, he has a net worth of $600 million.
- During the tough times of covid-19, Messi donated a massive amount to help the hospitals.
It’s no secret that Lionel Messi is one of the greatest soccer players of his generation and of all time. Messi has won everything there is to win in soccer after Argentina’s World Cup triumph in Qatar in 2022. He has also won a record eight Ballon d’Ors and countless other trophies. He’s also one of the highest-paid athletes with a massive net worth of $600 million.
However, while Messi rakes in millions of dollars annually from his soccer career and endorsement deals, the Argentine star also likes to give back to the world. Messi is known for his philanthropy and often generously donates to various charitable works and organizations. Let’s take a look at some of the Inter Miami star’s charitable works.
Lionel Messi made a huge contribution during the Covid-19 pandemic
The year 2020 was marked by the horrific Covid-19 pandemic that plagued the entire world. Millions of people lost their lives and the entire world came to a standstill. During such a difficult moment, Messi made an effort to help the frontline workers, the doctors, and the hospital staff, who tirelessly worked to cure the sick. According to reports, Messi donated a whopping $1.1 million during the covid-19 pandemic.
Lionel Messi donated one million euros to fight COVID-19. This amount will be divided between a hospital in Barcelona and a medical center in Argentina.#fifa #soccer #football #Messi #Mbappe #PSG #Ronaldo #sportteller pic.twitter.com/ErsNMbx1w8
— SportTeller (@sport_teller) November 11, 2021
A portion of Messi’s donation went to the Hospital Clinic in Catalunya and the other part went to a health center in Argentina. The Hospital Clinic acknowledged Messi’s help and thanked the Argentine skipper on their social media platforms. However, this wasn’t the only major contribution made by Messi. As a result of the pandemic, several staff members of FC Barcelona were in danger of not getting paid their full salary.
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Messi, however, stepped up to the occasion and helped save the jobs of the FC Barcelona staff. The former FC Barcelona skipper convinced his teammates to take a 70 percent pay cut to help the non-playing staff at the club. Messi also released a statement on his Instagram account and stated that he and his teammates will always be the first ones to offer their help in such an exceptional situation.
Lionel Messi’s contribution helped Kenyan children fight hunger
Back in 2019, Lionel Messi made an effort to help thousands of Kenyan children fight hunger. He reportedly donated 23 million Kenya shillings to fund the project in the African country. Messi’s work was a part of an initiative of the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF). The project aimed to provide water supply to over 2,000 Kenyan people by digging up wells.
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“Lionel Messi announced over the weekend that the Leo Messi Foundation has donated 23 million Kenya shillings (about US$227,000) to help children and families in Kenya access clean water, safe sanitation facilities, and food.”❤️
– 2019 pic.twitter.com/iGrRZzU3TB
— Lawal🦁🇦🇷 (@tndlawal) December 18, 2022
Messi also provided food supplements for over 4,000 hunger-stricken Kenyan children. The project also aimed to build school bathrooms to maintain proper hygiene and provide at least two liters of water every school day. The project was undertaken in the aftermath of almost 60,000 young Kenyan people suffering from malnutrition in 2018.
Lionel Messi is a UNICEF goodwill ambassador
Besides his charitable works and philanthropy, Lionel Messi is also a UNICEF ambassador. The Argentine international was appointed as the international agency’s goodwill ambassador back in 2010. Teaming up with UNICEF, Messi has often donated to various charity projects. Shortly after his appointment, Messi traveled to Haiti to raise awareness and help the children who were survivors of the deadly earthquake in 2010.
Messi also made a major contribution to help the children in the war-stricken Syria back in 2017. Messi urged the concerned parties to bring an end to the “heartbreaking” war that has claimed the lives of thousands of people. Thanks to Messi’s donation, UNICEF was able to construct schools for over 1,600 children in Syria, Tartus, and the rural areas of Damascus.
Messi’s pledge to help a 12-year-old child with growth hormone deficiency
Lionel Messi also helped a young child named Waleed Kashash fight Growth Hormone Deficiency (GHD). Back in 2012, a woman named Soad al-Affani made Messi aware of Waleed’s condition. Waleed, who was 12 years old, had dreams of making it big as a soccer star. However, with GHD coming his way, Waleed’s inability to afford the treatment threatened his dreams.
Messi will cover the costs of 208 euros every 15 days for the treatment of Waleed Kashash until the boy becomes 18. [http://t.co/NhuhNoOi]
— BettingOdds (@BettingOddsUK) May 14, 2012
Messi, however, jumped to help the young child and promised to pay for Waleed’s treatment. The former PSG forward pledged to pay a sum of $223 for every 15 days until Waleed turned 18. He also went a step forward and shared a picture of himself holding the unfortunate child’s T-shirt and wrote a message expressing his love and offering strength to the latter.
Interestingly, Messi also suffered from GHD when he was young. Diagnosed at an early age, Messi’s parents found it extremely difficult to pay for their son’s treatments. It was then that the Messi family decided to move to FC Barcelona. The Spanish club was willing to sign the Argentine wunderkind and pay for his treatments. Hopefully, Waleed was able to recover and follow his dreams like Messi and become a soccer player.
The Leo Messi Foundation
Lionel Messi’s biggest charitable project is the Leo Messi Foundation which he started in 2007. Messi’s Foundation is a non-profit organization that he started to make the lives of underprivileged children better. An interesting anecdote about how the idea of the Leo Messi Foundation came into his mind was shared in the Spanish journalist Guillem Balague’s biography of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner.
In the book, Balague described how Messi once visited a hospital for the terminally ill in Boston, the United States of America. Upon visiting the children, a young Argentine woman introduced Messi to her daughter who was suffering from cancer. However, the Inter Miami talisman was left aghast upon seeing the sufferings of the young girl.
After coming out of the hospital, Messi started weeping inconsolably on the shoulders of the Spanish journalist Cristina Cubero, who accompanied the former. It was then that the idea of creating a foundation that helps such children in need came to Messi’s mind. Messi’s former club, FC Barcelona, has also been an integral part of the Leo Messi Foundation since 2012.
The Leo Messi Foundation and FC Barcelona have come together on various projects and have kept their focus on health, education, and sports. The foundation and the Catalan club have collaborated on research projects on children battling cancer with the Sant Joan de Déu hospital. The foundation and the club also supported the construction of the new Sant Joan de Déu Pediatric Cancer Center.