Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, along with Mohamed Salah, have spent the last two decades defining one of football’s greatest eras. Now, with the 2026 FIFA World Cup marking Ronaldo’s final appearance at the tournament and another milestone in the careers of Messi and Salah, they are preparing for life beyond the pitch.
Before Messi’s Argentina defeated Salah’s Egypt in one of the best games of the tournament on Tuesday, Salah was asked which player he would choose for the last “last dance” of the Messi-Ronaldo generation. He chose Messi without hesitation. The answer was very difficult considering that Ronaldo had already confirmed that this would be the last FIFA World Cup before Portugal lost in the Round of 16 against Spain, which led to him finishing his World Cup matches in six competitions.
However, away from football, the future of the players is starting to differ. Messi and Ronaldo are increasingly embracing equity stakes in AI, health technology, and startup companies, while Salah is sticking more to the traditional mix of commercial, material, and philanthropic partnerships.
That change has accelerated over the past decade as venture capital firms and startups increasingly seek celebrity investors who bring more than cash. A soccer player with hundreds of millions of fans can offer global reach, credibility, and distribution that few traditional investors can match.
“The move from traditional sponsorship deals to equity stakes and early stage investments reflects a broader focus on creating long-term wealth and financial security that goes beyond an athlete’s playing career,” said Kamraan Khan, partner at Dubai-based firm Archer Valuation and Advisory.
In the past Over the decade, elite athletes have increasingly traded individual endorsement fees for ownership in companies, joining a broader trend that has seen sports stars become investors rather than just brand ambassadors. In October 2022, Messi launched Play Time HoldCo, an investment company based in San Francisco and entrepreneur Razmig Hovaghimian, founder of the video streaming platform Viki, which was previously acquired by Rakuten. The company’s mission is simple: to invest in companies that work across sports, media, and technology.
“While sponsorships typically generate income during an athlete’s peak earning years, equity investments can provide the opportunity for capital appreciation and, where appropriate, future dividend income, helping to build continued wealth after retirement,” noted Khan.
Originally reported to be targeting around $200 million, Playtime has since amassed a portfolio that has grown to resemble a Silicon Valley venture capital fund.
Playtime website, whose bets include FieldAI, Fish Audio, World Labs, Perceptron, Intangible, and SuperAnnotate, as well as sports-specific investments in the FIFA-licensed mobile game. Matching day and souvenir market AC Momento.
Apart from Playtime, Messi also has an equity share in the Sorare soccer stadium, which allows users to buy and trade officially licensed digital player cards, and joined the ownership group of KRÜ Esports, the Valorant and Rocket League organization founded by his former Argentina team Sergio Agüero. His three-year, reportedly $20 million deal to serve as a global ambassador for blockchain fan-token platform Socios.com is a paid promotional contract, not an undisclosed share of dividends.
As part of his historic move to Inter Miami in 2023, Messi received a share of the ownership along with his salary and signing bonus—an arrangement unprecedented in Major League Soccer. While reports have speculated about the size of the stake, neither club nor MLS has publicly confirmed the details.
Sportico valued Inter Miami at $1.45 billion in February 2026, up 22 percent year-over-year and the highest in MLS history.
If Messi’s investment reflecting Silicon Valley’s AI development, Ronaldo’s focus is almost entirely on health technology—an area closely aligned with the product of a man who has spent decades cultivating fitness and longevity.
Ronaldo became an investor in Whoop—a fitness tracking and wearable health statistics company—in May 2024, a deal Whoop itself called “one of Ronaldo’s most important investments to date,” after years of being a paying member. “Whoop has become one of the most important tools I use to support my long-term health,” he said at the time. Whoop’s entry into the UAE is supported by the Qatar Investment Authority and Mubadala Investment Company.
