Europe

According to the latest update from Forbes, Lionel Messi was the world’s fourth-highest paid entertainer in 2019 — only Kanye West, Kylie Jenner and Taylor Swift made more. So what is Lionel Messi’s net worth, how much does he make annually from his Barcelona contract and what does he earn from his lavish endorsement deals with adidas, Gatorade, Pepsi and others?

Lionel Messi Net Worth 2019

Lionel Messi Barcelona Contract And Salary

On Wednesday, July 31, the only friendly worth watching takes place at Orlando City Stadium in Florida — it’s the 2019 MLS All-Star Game, pitting the best of MLS against Spanish giant Atlético Madrid. What’s flying under the radar is that one day before the big game, there’s going to be an All-Star Skills Challenge. 

This used to be a regular feature of MLS All-Star weekend, but for some reason I’ll never understand, they put an end to it. Here’s a brief recap.

It’s with great sadness that our summer of soccer 2019 draws to a close. The USWNT lifted the World Cup, Brazil triumphed on home soil at the Copa América, Mexico reclaimed the Gold Cup and we’re into the final week of the Africa Cup of Nations. Unless you’re eagerly anticipating the ICC, our glorious summer is at an end.

After a late season collapse that included that historic beatdown from Liverpool in the Champions League semis and defeat to Valencia in the Copa del Rey final, FC Barcelona has dusted itself off and is now looking forward to its 120th season in existence with relish. 

Last Friday, a substantial crowd at the Camp Nou welcomed new signing Frenkie de Jong from Ajax. The 22-year-old cost $84 million, and he’ll instantly slot into Barça’s midfield three alongside Sergio Busquets and Ivan Rakitic. 

The USWNT made history today by becoming repeat champions of the Women's World Cup following a 2-0 victory over the Netherlands. For all the talk of a closing divide between the Americans and their European counterparts, this one wasn’t even close. It took an hour for the U.S. to find its opener, but the final score could’ve easily been five or six to zero.

The 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup final date and time has been decided: On Sunday, July 7, the USWNT will take on the Netherlands at 11:00 a.m. ET on Fox, while Spanish-language coverage will be provided by Telemundo. The venue will be the 59,186-seat Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, the site of both semifinals. 

Manchester City looks to be wrapping up its first signing of the summer.

With a few players that are starting to age, Pep Guardiola has been looking for immediate replacements. Fernandinho, arguably one of City’s most important players in the past few years, is 34 years old. While he still has a lot to give for Manchester City, he isn’t as young and spry as he used to be.

Arsenal insider David Ornstein has reported that Arsenal has made a bid of $50.45 million (£40 million) for Crystal Palace winger Wilfried Zaha. Zaha has been a vital player in Palace’s side, netting 10 goals and 10 assists last season, helping the Eagles secure a solid mid-table finish.

Arsenal's bid is far below Palace’s valuation of Zaha, as the club has stated it is not willing to part with him for anything less than $100 million (£80m).

In between showing that replay of Chile not scoring on a free kick and talking about Hope Solo, we forgot to give Alyssa Naeher her proper due. She stayed calm and alert despite Becky Sauerbrunn's error against Spain, recorded four saves and withstood France’s second-half flurry last Friday, but still we didn’t take any time to address the U.S. goalkeeper. Now nobody's gonna talk about anything besides Alyssa Naeher.

Tottenham Hotspur is already trying to put it’s Champions League failure in the past. It’s been over a full calendar year since Tottenham has signed a player, and the fact that Mauricio Pochettino was able to take his squad this far without any help from new players is commendable. Though, the only thing Spurs have to show for it is a Champions League berth via a third-place finish in the Premier League and a loss in the previous season’s Champions League final.