At 35, Lionel Messi understands he only has a couple more years left to play football, which is why the Paris Saint-Germain star is making ventures outside the pitch for his post-playing career.
BNN Bloomberg reported Wednesday that the Argentine is creating a global holding business to invest in sports, media, and technology. The company will be based in San Francisco and called Play Time Sports-Tech HoldCo LLC.
Messi’s company will examine “stage agnostic” possibilities that could include, for example, supporting startup founders to create football-tech companies or investing in teams.
“I am excited to extend our roots into Silicon Valley, and I am thrilled that Play Time will collaborate with daring entrepreneurs from all over the world,” Messi said in a statement.
While the company will be Messi’s, the Paris Saint-Germain star will have Razmig Hovaghimian, a partner at venture capital firm Graph Ventures, run Play Time. In addition, Michael Marquez, founding partner of investment bank Code Advisors LLC, will serve as a special adviser.
“From the time I met Leo and the Messi family in 2017, it was clear that their vision for the future is bold,” Hovaghimian said in a statement. “They want to continue to have a direct and lasting impact on and off the pitch.”
Expect this company to be one of many that Messi launches, as it appears as though the Argentine will be plenty busy once he hangs up his boots.
