Soccer superstar Lionel Messi is raising the sport’s profile not only in Miami but the U.S.—and his purchase of a $10.75 million estate is now drawing curious eyes from around the world to a gated community he now calls home in Fort Lauderdale.
When the 36-year-old forward signed with Inter Miami CF earlier this summer—fresh off his victory during the World Cup in Qatar last year—Messi Mania hit Miami, with stalwart fans and the newly initiated lining up for tickets and merch. Although the real estate market may not go quite as crazy, it’s not immune to the hype, industry experts said.
“A buyer with a massive international following is a magnet for attention, and ever since the news broke that Messi was house hunting in Fort Lauderdale, and then closed on a home in Bay Colony, all eyes have been on the area,” said Chad Carroll with the Carroll Group at Compass. “A new high-profile neighbor like Messi will up the ante for the neighborhood, which is already one of the most exclusive in the city.”
The Bay Colony home has eight bedrooms and nine-and-a-half bathrooms.
Bay Colony is an island community of about 100 waterfront mansions that attracts boating enthusiasts and those who want maximum security, as it is guard-gated 24 hours a day, Carroll added.
The average price for a home in Bay Colony is $4.6 million, according to Zillow.
The attention brought to the area by Messi, who purchased the nearly 10,500-square-foot mansion with his wife, model Antonela Roccuzzo, can definitely “create a stronger demand in the community and create a new price benchmark for future sales,” according to Samuel and Donna Simpkin of Compass’s Team Simpkin, who represented Messi and Roccuzzo and are the exclusive real estate agents for the Inter Miami CF.
“Anytime you have a high-profile sale happen it helps bring immediate attention to the area, which usually has an impact on the community and its overall appeal to buyers,” they said in an email. The couple declined to comment on the deal itself, but noted that Fort Lauderdale is “on a great growth trajectory.”
Cyril Bijaoui of the Corcoran Group agreed that Messi’s entrance into Miami, and now Fort Lauderdale, is likely to continue to attract attention.
“Messi moving to South Florida has been big news, and it has absolutely impacted everything,” he said in a statement, noting that even the progress of Inter Miami’s stadium development has been affected. “This will absolutely have a positive effect on future sales within the community and nearby.”
Representatives for Messi did not immediately return a request for comment.