BOTH Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo know a shrewd business move when they see one.
Off the pitch, the pair have various business interests, including fashion lines, museums and in the case of the PSG star, a purported Chinese theme park.
Cristiano Ronaldo has various business interests outside of football, including owning hotels
Rival Lionel Messi is also a hotelier and owns three resortsCredit: Getty – Contributor
But it’s hotels the two, who have now won the Ballon d’Or 12 times between them, just can’t stop collecting, just like they’re playing a game of Monopoly.
Messi, 35, bought the Seasun Fona in S’Illot, Majorca to add to his hotel portfolio that includes spots in Ibiza and Barcelona.
And this year he added to that with a 141-room ski resort in the Pyrenees.
While Ronaldo, 38, went down the budget route, establishing the Pestana CR7 hotel chain in his hometown of Madeira and Lisbon, both in Portugal.
He’s also added venues in Madrid and New York, and has plans for new sites including a 150-room high-end destination in Manchester’s Picadilly Gardens district in 2023.
There’s never been much between them on the pitch, and it’s just as close when it comes to being a better hotelier.
Here we take a peek inside some of the jewels in their crowns.
HOTEL MIM IBIZA ES VIVE
The jewel of Messi’s business empire, the Argentinian legend bought the 52-room luxury adults-only hotel in early 2018.
In fact, the stunning Art Deco style building, based just of off the beautiful Figueretas beach on the south eastern coast of the Balearic island, was said to have been eyed up by Ronaldo before Messi swooped.
The £525-per-night resort was originally opened as a hostel in 2001, before it was renovated by British designer Sean Cochrane in 2014.
Hotel MiM Ibiza Es Vive boasts a stunning rooftop bar, and a majestic pool surrounded by comfortable sun loungers.
Back in 2018, the hotel hit the headlines after SunSport EXCLUSIVELY revealed the resort was going to be the base for a four-day lesbian sex party.
TripAdvisor rating: 4.4 out of 5
Lionel Messi’s Hotel MiM Ibiza Es Vive is a place of luxuryCredit: Instagram @hotelesvive
Rooms at Lionel Messi’s Hotel MiM Ibiza Es Vive can cost up to 525-per nightCredit: Instagram @hotelesvive
The Hotel MiM Ibiza Es Vive hosted a lesbian sex partyCredit: Instagram @hotelesvive
Messi bought the Art Deco Hotel MiM Ibiza Es Vive in 2018Credit: Instagram @hotelesvive
PESTANA CR7 FUNCHAL
Ronaldo’s first hotel was opened to massive fanfare in July 2016.
At the time he said: “I wanted to be in the hotel industry for quite a while and the opportunity happened quite naturally as a result of the relationship with the owner and chairman of the Pestana Hotel Group, Dionísio Pestana, who built the largest international hotel brand of Portuguese origin starting with one first hotel on my home island, Madeira.”
And although it’s a budget hotel, with rooms costing as little as £79 per night off season, it does have a luxurious 4-star rating.
The property can be found on the waterfront opposite Funchal’s cruise ship terminal, is a short ten-minute walk to the city centre and is surrounded by cafes and bars.
With a nod to its footballing owner, there’s some novel designs with its decor, including astro-turf lined bathrooms.
And the rooms themselves (all 49 of them) are comfortable, if not a tad small.
The rooftop deck features a sauna, which offers views of Madeira’s mountainous landscape.
Food-wise, the more adventurous eater can try the CR7 Kobe beef burger with foie gras, but it’ll cost you around £21.
TripAdvisor rating: 4.3 out of 5
Ronaldo opened his first hotel in Funchal, Madeira in 2016Credit: Pestana CR7 Funchal
Rooms at the Pestana CR7 Funchal can cost as little as £79-per nightCredit: Pestana CR7 Funchal
The Pestana CR7 Funchal is located on the waterfront and boasts views of Madeira’s mountainous landscapeCredit: Pestana CR7 Funchal
The bathrooms are football-themed at Pestana CR7 Funchal, with astro-turf lining the wallsCredit: Pestana CR7 Funchal
HOTEL MIM SITGES
Knowing his surroundings well, Messi reportedly splashed £26m on his first hotel in Sitges, a coastal town in Catalonia, southwest of Barcelona in 2017.
The four-star property on the Avenida Sofia boasts 77 rooms, five of those being junior suites, while one is a superior suite.
The 3,300 square foot space has a swimming pool on the top floor, which has an scenic view of the sea and Sitges beach.
Other amenities include a spa that covers a variety of of treatments and massages, as well as a VIP DUO cabin for couples treatments and an oxygen cabin.
Food and drink can be found at the Sky Bar, which serves refreshing cocktails and tapas dishes.
And an evening meal can be enjoyed at the Hotel MiM Sitges restaurant, which serves Mediterranean and local fayre.
To stay in a double room, it’ll cost you around £104-per night, which is reasonable for Barcelona.
However, Messi is faced the bombshell news that he may have to demolish the place.
The £650,000-a-week PSG ace was hit with a court order as the building doesn’t meet council requirements – although it remains unclear if any further action was taken.
TripAdvisor rating: 4.3 out of 5
Messi splashed £26 million on a hotel in the coastal resort of StigesCredit: Hotel MiM Stiges
A double room at the Hotel MiM Sitges will set you back a reasonable £104Credit: Hotel MiM Stiges
Messi memorabilia can be found inside the Hotel MiM SitgesCredit: Hotel MiM Stiges
The swimming pool can be found on the top floor of the Hotel MiM SitgesCredit: Hotel MiM Stiges
PESTANA CR7 LISBOA
After the success of his Madeira hotel, Ronaldo soon set his sights on the coastal Portuguese capital, Lisbon.
It’s situated in a lovely part of the city, close to the downtown waterfront and therefore perfect for sightseeing, shopping and bar-hopping.
And his second digs pays more of a homage to his footballing career than his first.
Like Messi’s Ibiza hotel, the design follows an Art Deco theme, and features plenty of Ronaldo memorabilia that adorns the rooms and the reception.
For those who can’t bear to be cut off from the internet, the hotel provides complimentary mobile phones if you need to get online, and you can even take them outside with you.
Football fanatics won’t miss a match, with the Corner Bar and Bistro offering big screen TVs playing all the major sporting events.
They offer a menu of mini-hamburgers, filled potato skins, as well as steaks, fish, and some traditional Portuguese dishes, including seafood stews.
TripAdvisor rating: 4.4 out of 5
Ronaldo opened his second hotel in Portugal in the capital LisbonCredit: PestanaCR7
The small bedrooms at the Pestana CR7 Lisboa have an Art Deco themeCredit: PestanaCR7
Guests can amuse themselves with a game of table footballCredit: PestanaCR7
Sports fans won’t miss a kick at the sports bar inside the Pestana CR7 Lisboa
WHAT’S TO COME
Both successful hoteliers, Ronaldo and Messi are expanding their hotel businesses.
Messi bought the 95-room, 198 bed Hotel Seasun Fona in Majorca in 2019.
Style-wise, it’s got a typically Mediterranean feel and sits beside the sandy beaches of S’Illot.
It reopened under a different name and is now called the Hotel Mallorca Fona after a big refurb.
But he made his biggest acquition only in April this year, when he splashed out on the ski hotel next to the lifts at Spain’s largest winter resort in the heart of the Pyrenees in the Aran Valley.
The four-star destination includes a spa, an indoor swimming pool, a fitness centreand mountain guide services.
Ronaldo, on the other hand, is planning on going international with his expansion.
Messi’s new 141-room ski resort in the Pyrenees
The Portuguese wants to take the Pestana CR7 brand to Paris and Marrakech- as well as Manchester.
Marrakech has been a popular destination for Ronaldo, who toasted New Year’s Eve there in 2017 with kickboxer pal Badr Hari, and former Real Madrid team-mate, Karim Benzema.
And now, he’ll have somewhere to crash.
Designs for Ronaldo’s Marrakech hotel show it’ll be a place for the jet set
The luxurious bar area will cater for its exclusive clientele
A luxury spa and sauna will be on hand to relax guests
The site of Ronaldo’s Manchester hotel, due to open in 2023
While Messi added the Seasun Fona hotel in Majorca to his hotel portfolio too
