Lionel Messi changed the history of Inter Miami and Major League Soccer forever when in July 2023 he decided to leave Europe for the first time in his professional career to start a new era in the United States. Talks with the club's owners David Beckham and Jorge Mas were instrumental in Leo's decision, but he was also attracted by the lifestyle he could lead in Miami, away from the pressures of Barcelona and Paris.
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Just a few weeks after his arrival, the Argentine forward led the team to their first ever Leagues Cup title and could have repeated that success in the US Open Cup had it not been for a muscle injury he suffered with the Argentine national team in September that prevented him from playing in the final of the tournament. That also kept him out of the decisive MLS matches and so he was unable to help Inter Miami reach the playoffs.
Now, at the start of the 2024 season, Messi will try to fulfill the objectives left pending from last year and win the MLS and CONCACAF Champions League titles. He will be surrounded by stars such as Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suarez, who joined the squad motivated by the chance to play with Leo again, after having been teammates for many years at Barcelona.
But, despite the importance that Lionel Messi has in Inter Miami for his talent, experience and success, in one aspect he is not the number one in the team: money. In that, Leonardo Campana has the edge. The 23-year-old Ecuadorian striker, who previously played for Wolverhampton, Famalicao and Grasshoppers, has a fortune estimated at nearly $1 billion, almost twice as much as Leo, making him not only the richest player in the Herons, but also one of the richest in the world.
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How did he make that fortune?
Leonardo Campana is very young and just starting his professional career, so obviously his fortune does not come from soccer. He is the son of Pablo Campana, a former tennis player and Ecuadorian politician, who is also the founder of Milenium S.A., a real estate development company. And he is the grandson of Isabel Noboa, one of the richest women in Ecuador, with businesses related to tourism, agriculture and real estate.
