Messi's Plan After Argentina: The Messi Cup and a Business Empire

Lionel Messi will wear the Argentina shirt for the last time tonight against Benin, but his future is anything but quiet. The Messi Cup returns in 19 days with twice as many academies, while a business portfolio that helped make him a billionaire keeps expanding.

The golden era ends tonight

After more than two decades in the Albiceleste, Lionel Messi's international career reaches its ceremonial end at the Estadio Monumental on Tuesday evening, in a friendly against Benin that is expected to draw around 85,000 supporters. Messi announced his retirement from Argentina in August, saying he had nothing left to give and pointing to the young players who deserve their chance.

The numbers are staggering. Messi bows out as Argentina's record appearance-maker and all-time top scorer with 207 caps and 125 goals, alongside a record 68 assists. His honours with the national team include the 2022 World Cup, two Copa America titles and the Finalissima. His final competitive outing came two and a half months ago, in Argentina's ill-tempered World Cup final defeat to Spain in New Jersey.

Members of the 2022 World Cup-winning squad and their families will join him for the send-off, alongside veterans such as Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football in 2024. The symbolism is clear: one era closes, and attention shifts to what Messi does next.

The Messi Cup doubles to 16 academies

One answer arrives just 19 days after the farewell. The second edition of the Messi Cup, Messi's own international youth tournament, takes place from 25 October to 1 November in Miami, hosted at Inter Miami's facilities with the Inter Miami CF Stadium as the main venue and the Florida Blue Training Center also in use.

The field has doubled from eight teams in the inaugural 2025 edition to 16 elite Under-16 academies representing nine countries across three continents. Inter Miami confirmed the participants as Inter Miami, Ajax, Inter Milan, Atletico de Madrid, Benfica, FC Barcelona, Palmeiras, Arsenal, Newell's Old Boys, Flamengo, UE Cornella, Manchester City, Boca Juniors, River Plate, Independiente del Valle and Chelsea. River Plate return as defending champions after winning the first edition.

Fans worldwide will be able to follow the action on Disney+, ESPN+ and ESPN television channels, with availability varying by territory, according to the tournament organisers.

Youth football is one of his two loves

According to the BBC, Messi's commitment to the tournament goes beyond lending his name. He attended his son's games regularly and threw himself into last year's first edition: organisers expected him to turn up for one or two games, perhaps only the final, but he sat through every match on every day.

Newell's Old Boys, the Rosario club where Messi played youth football from 1995 to 2000 before leaving for Barcelona, are among the 16 academies. Messi said of the project: "The Messi Cup was created so that the boys can enjoy a unique experience, both on and off the pitch, at a very important stage in their development, while also beginning to understand what it means to compete at the highest international level. We are very happy to see the tournament continue to grow and to be able to bring together players from so many great clubs around the world so they can compete, share the experience and, above all, enjoy football."

It is a revealing window into where his energy is going: not away from football, but towards its next generation.

A business empire behind the scenes

Away from the pitch, Messi has spent years building a portfolio that the BBC reports helped Forbes put his net worth at about $1.1 billion in June, with earnings of around $140 million over the previous year split between football and business. His best-known endorsement remains the lifetime Adidas deal he signed in 2017.

The most visible piece of the empire is MiM Hotels, six boutique properties spanning Sitges, Sotogrande, Mallorca, Ibiza, Baqueira Beret and Andorra. Since 1 November 2025, the chain has been run by Melia Hotels International inside its luxury Melia Collection under a lease agreement. The brand began life as a venture with the Majestic Hotel Group, which managed the properties from their 2017 launch, and the "MiM" name reflects the partnership of Messi and Majestic.

Rosario, Milanesa and mate

Closer to home, the BBC reports that Messi's family firm is investing in Carrasco M, a development of 24 homes by the Parana river in Rosario, with Angel Di Maria's property agency handling the sales. He is also a partner in the restaurant chain El Club de la Milanesa, which plans to open five branches in Catalonia, the first in Castelldefels. And he has a mate collection with drinkware giant Stanley, described as the brand's first multi-year deal with an athlete, with Messi personally giving his opinion on materials and colours.

The business side began with his father. Jorge Messi, who died in August aged 68, looked after his son's affairs from the start. The company grew into branches for TV production, marketing, media and commercial partnerships, all well established by the time Jorge fell seriously ill, the BBC reported. Messi trusts the people who run them, some with him since his early Barcelona days, and sets his own relationship with the business world: nobody imposes anything on him.

At the America Business Forum in Miami last November, Messi put it plainly: "Business is something that interests me. I would like to keep learning because I know nothing and I am just starting out."

What it all means for tonight

Tonight's farewell against Benin is the ceremonial close of a playing chapter for Argentina. What follows, at least on the evidence of the Messi Cup and his off-field empire, is not a retreat. Within three weeks he will be in Miami overseeing a tournament that now gathers 16 of the world's finest academies, while his hotels, restaurants and brands run on.

For the estimated 85,000 at the Monumental, the evening will be about goodbye. For Messi, it increasingly looks like the start of a second career built around the game he never left.

Questions people ask

All of our farewell coverage is on Argentina vs Benin.