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Lionel Messi Prepares for Argentina Farewell With Executive Producer Role at Disney

Messi’s post-retirement plans aren’t all outside the scope of soccer.
Grey Whitebloom|
Lionel Messi has to think about what he’s going to do after soccer.
Lionel Messi has to think about what he’s going to do after soccer. | Todd Kirkland/Getty Images

Disney have surprisingly announced Lionel Messi as the executive producer for a new animation series based, in the loosest sense of the word, on the life of Argentina’s retiring superstar.

Messi’s career has a comic book quality to it. He is the national team’s undisputed hero, leaping off the posters on the childhood bedroom walls of so many of his current teammates to lead Argentina to four consecutive major tournament finals.

As the 39-year-old brings his story to a close with a farewell friendly against Benin on Tuesday night, Disney have commissioned a new show titled: Messi and the Giants.

The series, which is set to be released in summer 2027, centers around a 12-year-old boy with the distinctive brown mop of hair which Messi had in his youth. At that point in his life, the actual Messi was still living in Argentina and not much taller than four foot, with his parents desperately trying to convince Newell’s Old Boys to fund his growth hormone treatment.

The animated Lionel, by contrast, is trapped in an alternate virtual reality fighting giant monsters in convoluted scenarios which just so happen to require his soccer skills. Different strokes for different folks.

While lending your likeness to kids’ shows is one retirement plan, Messi would appear to have loftier ambitions for when he finally hangs up his boots.

What Will Lionel Messi Do After Retiring From Soccer?

Messi has already ruled out one of the most common avenues for retired professionals. “I don’t really see myself as a manager,” he has said on multiple occasions.

That is perhaps a wise decision. There is a short list of truly generational players who have made the transition to successful managers. Carlo Ancelotti, a talented individual in his day but not of Messi’s caliber, warned: “It is a completely different job—your career as a player won’t help as a manager.”

For a player as preternaturally gifted as Messi, an individual who walks around the pitch with a bird’s eye view of everything going around him, getting the information which he was able to instantly process across to a set of mortal players could be infuriating.

However, Messi isn’t planning on stepping away from the sport entirely. “I would like to have my own club,” he revealed earlier this year, “to start from the bottom and be able to give the opportunity to the boys, to the people, to grow and make an important club.”

The wheels for that plan are already in motion. Messi recently acquired Spanish second-tier side Eldense, having already bought fifth-tier outfit UE Cornellà in April.

Messi also has a stake in Deportivo LSM, an amateur Uruguayan club founded by his Inter Miami teammate and close friend Luis Suárez.

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Grey Whitebloom
GREY WHITEBLOOM

Grey Whitebloom is an Associate Editor for SI FC. He has more than half a decade of experience in sports media across all its various guises, from the fast-paced demands of news articles and match reports to in-depth research required for features. Whitebloom graduated with a First Class Honours from University College London and found himself named on the Dean’s List—which, despite his initial fears, was a form of praise rather than a punishment. He specialises in the Premier League and Champions League, while also boasting an extensive track record of La Liga coverage.

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