Lionel Messi continues to create news outside of sports as he announces an investment in Silicon Valley.
The time when Lionel Messi hangs up his soccer boots is getting closer with each passing day, especially since he has already stated that the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar will be his last.
Despite still being one of the world’s top soccer players, Messi is making preparations for his financial future.
Lionel Messi
A forward for Ligue 1 team Paris Saint-Germain and captain of Argentina’s national team, Lionel Andrés Messi was born in Argentina on June 24, 1987.
One of the greatest players of all time, Messi has won a record seven Ballon d’Ors, six European Golden Shoes, and was chosen for the Ballon d’Or Dream Team in 2020.
Lionel Messi establishes his sports and technology investment enterprise
The Argentinian superstar revealed on Wednesday that he is founding a holding firm that would make investments in media, technology, and sports across the globe.
Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC, with its headquarters in Silicon Valley, San Francisco, California, will serve as Messi’s main investment vehicle going forward.
The business will look into prospects that may involve, among other things, supporting startup entrepreneurs in building football-tech businesses or investing in professional clubs.
In a statement, Lionel Messi announced the information while also expressing his delight.
The Argentine remarked, “I am happy that Play Time will work with fearless entrepreneurs from all around the world. I am excited to expand our roots into Silicon Valley.”
Messi will receive support for his commercial endeavor
Razmig Hovaghimian, a partner at Graph Ventures, and Michael Marquez, a founding member of the investment bank Code Advisors LLC, will serve as the company’s directors and special advisors, respectively.
Hovaghimian has the background needed for this project because he is also the co-founder of Matchday.com, a football website that Messi’s company is preparing to publish prior to the start of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar in November.
“From the time I met Leo and the Messi family in 2017, it was clear that their vision for the future is bold,” Hovaghimian said in a statement.
Additionally, he described the family’s desire to continue making a significant and long-lasting difference both on and off the field.
Philanthropy
Due in part to the medical challenges he encountered as a child, Messi has devoted most of his career to humanitarian endeavors aimed at disadvantaged children.
He has supported the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), an organization with which Barcelona has a close affiliation, with his time and money since 2004.
Since being named a UNICEF goodwill ambassador in March 2010, Messi has traveled to Haiti to raise awareness of the condition of the nation’s children in the wake of the devastating earthquake. Four months later, he completed his first field assignment for the organization.
Since then, he has taken part in UNICEF programs for HIV education, prevention, and the social integration of children with disabilities.
