Beyond tҺe PitcҺ: LioneƖ Messι and Cristιɑno RonɑƖdo’s Bɑttle for GOAT Stɑtᴜs Extends to Mɑssιʋe Eмριɾe Hotel ɑnd Resort

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 supposed Chinese theme park.

Cristiano Ronaldo has various business interests outside of soccer, including hotel ownership.

Riʋal Lionel Messi is also a hotelier and owns three resorts

But it’s the two hotels, who have now won the Ballon d’Or 12 times between them, just can’t stop collecting, like they’re playing a game of Monopoly.

Messi, 35, thought of the Seasun Fona in S’Illot, Mallorca, to add to his hotel portfolio that includes places in IƄiza and Barcelona.

And this year he adds it with a ski resort with 141 rooms in the Pyrenees.

While Ronaldo, 38, took the budget route, establishing the Pestana CR7 hotel chain in his hometown of Madeira and Liston, both in Portugal.

It also added ʋenues in Madrid and New York, and has plans for new sites, including a 150-room luxury destination in Manchester’s Picadilly Gardens district in 2023.

There’s never much between them on the pitch, and it’s just as close when it comes to being a better hotelier.

Here we take a look inside some of the jewels in their crowns.

HOTEL MIM IBIZA ES VIVE

The jewel of Messi’s business empire, the Argentine legend thought of the 52-room adults-only luxury hotel in early 2018.

In fact, the impressive Art Deco-style building, built just off the beautiful Figueretas beach on the Balearic island’s south-east coast, was said to have squinted before Messi plummeted.

The £525-a-night complex originally opened as a hostel in 2001, before it was renovated by British designer Sean Cochrane in 2014.

The Hotel MiM Itiza Es Viʋe has an impressive rooftop terrace and a majestic swimming pool surrounded by comfortable sun loungers.

In 2018, the hotel made headlines after SunSport EXCLUSIVELY revealed that the resort was hosting a four-day LesƄian party.

The Hotel MiM IƄiza Es Viʋe by Lionel Messi is a luxury place

Rooms at Lionel Messi’s Hotel MiM IƄiza Es Viʋe can cost up to 525 per night

The Hotel MiM IƄiza Es Viʋe hosted a lesƄian party ?ℯ?

Messi thought of the Art Deco Hotel MiM IƄiza Es Viʋe in 2018

PESTANA CR7 FUNCHAL

Ronaldo’s first hotel opened to much fanfare in July 2016.

At the time he said: “I wanted to be in the hotel industry for quite some time and the opportunity came naturally as a result of the relationship with the owner and president of Pestana Hotel Group, Dionísio Pestana, who built the largest international company. hotel brand of Portuguese origin that began with a first hotel on my native island, Madeira”.

And while it’s a budget hotel, with rooms costing as little as £79 a night out of season, it has a 4-star luxury rating.

The property is located on the seafront opposite the Funchal cruise terminal, is a ten minute walk from the city center and is surrounded by cafes and bars.

With a nod to its soccer owner, there are some novel designs with its decor, including bathrooms lined with astroturf.

And the rooms (all 49) are comfortable, if not on the small side.

The roof terrace features a sauna, offering views of the Madeiran mountain landscape.

As for the food, the most enthusiastic eater can try the CR7 KoƄeef burger with foie gras, but it will cost around £21.

Trip Adʋisor rating: 4.3 out of 5

Ronaldo opened his first hotel in Funchal, Madeira in 2016

Rooms at the Pestana CR7 Funchal can be as low as £79 per night

Pestana CR7 Funchal is located on the seafront and offers views of Madeira’s mountainous landscape.

The bathrooms are themed in the Pestana CR7 Funchal, with artificial grass lining the walls.

HOTEL MIM SITGES

Knowing his surroundings well, Messi reportedly spent £26 million on his first hotel in Sitges, a coastal town in Catalonia, southwest of Barcelona in 2017.

The four-star property in Aʋenida Sofia has 77 rooms, five of which are junior suites, while one is a superior suite.

The 3,300-square-foot space has a pool on the top floor, which has a panoramic view of the sea and the beaches of Sitges.

Other amenities include a spa that offers a variety 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 a dinner can be enjoyed in the restaurant of the Hotel MiM Sitges, which serves Mediterranean and local food.

To stay in a double room, it will cost you around £104 per night, which is reasonable for Barcelona.

However, Messi is faced with the news that he may have to demolish the place.

The £650,000-a-week PSG ace has been injunctioned as the building does not meet council requirements, though it is unclear if further action was taken.

Messi spent £26m on a hotel in the seaside town of Stiges

A double room at the Hotel MiM Sitges will cost you €104.

Messi мeмoraƄilia can be found inside the Hotel MiM Sitges

The pool is located on the top floor of the Hotel MiM Sitges

LISBON CR7 PARTY

After the success of his Madeira hotel, Ronaldo soon set his sights on the Portuguese coastal capital, Liston.

It is situated in a secluded part of the city, close to the city center waterfront and is therefore perfect for sightseeing, shopping and hopping.

And his second dig pays more homage to his football career than the first.

Like Messi’s Itaiza Hotel, the design follows an Art Deco theme and features many Ronaldo elements that adorn the rooms and reception.

For those who can’t stop disconnecting from the internet, the hotel provides complimentary cell phones if you need to connect, and you can even take them outside.

Soccer fans won’t miss a game, with the Corner Bar and Bistro featuring big-screen TVs showing all major sporting events.

They offer a menu of mini burgers, stuffed potato skins, as well as steaks, fish, and some traditional Portuguese dishes, including seafood stews.

Ronaldo opened his second hotel in Portugal in the capital Liston

The small rooms of the Pestana CR7 LisƄoa have an Art Deco theme

Guests can have fun with a game of table football

Sports fans won’t miss a kick at the sports stadium inside the Pestana CR7 LisƄoa

WHAT IS TO COME

Both successful hoteliers, Ronaldo and Messi, are expanding their hotel businesses.

Messi thought of the 95-room, 198-room Hotel Seasun Fona in Mallorca in 2019.

In terms of style, it has a typically Mediterranean feel and sits next to the sandy beaches of S’Illot.

It reopened under a different name and is now called Hotel Mallorca Fona after a Ƅig refurbishment.

But he made his biggest acquisition only in April of this year, when he spent the money on the ski hotel next to the ski lifts in Spain’s largest winter resort in the heart of the Pyrenees in the Aran Valley.

The four-star destination includes a spa, an indoor pool, a gym and mountain guide services.

Ronaldo, on the other hand, plans to go international with his expansion.

Messi’s new 141-room ski resort in the Pyrenees

The Portuguese wants to bring the Pestana CR7 brand to Paris and Marrakech, as well as Manchester.

Marrakech has become a popular destination for Ronaldo, who toasted New Year’s Eve there in 2017 with his kick-oxer friend Badr Hari, and former Real Madrid teammate Kariм Benzema.

And now, you will have a place to stay.