Here’s a first look into the television docuseries about Lionel Messi’s spectacular career.
Apple TV+ has released a teaser trailer for Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend, the four-part docuseries that follows the 26-year-old Argentine football great’s impressive career.
The docuseries will premiere globally on February 21.
Messi’s World Cup follows the career of the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner through five FIFA World Cup appearances and his FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 win, in one of the most exciting finals in history.
In his own words, Messi tells the definitive story of his incredible career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate and unprecedented look at his quest for a legacy-defining World Cup victory.
The series also features personal interviews with Messi, alongside conversations with teammates, coaches, competitors, fans and commentators.
The docuseries charts his path from his first match with the Argentina national football team through several elusive World Cup wins, leading to his early retirement in 2016 and, ultimately, the comeback to become a FIFA World Cup champion and be crowned the 2022 tournament’s best player.
Messi’s World Cup: The Rise of a Legend is executive produced by Tim Pastore, Patrick Milling Smith and Brian Carmody, and Matt Renner of Smuggler Entertainment, alongside Jenna Millman and Juan Camilo Cruz.
The series is produced for Apple by Smuggler Entertainment in association with Pegsa.
Lionel Messi’s most recent World Cup experience is getting the documentary treatment…
A four-part docuseries about the 35-year-old Argentine soccer superstar, from Smuggler Entertainment’s Tim Pastore, Patrick Milling-Smith, Brian Carmody and Matt Renner, is heading to Apple TV+.
With exclusive behind-the-scenes footage, the as-yet untitled series filmed in Paris, Qatar and Argentina, tracks the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner through his five FIFA World Cup appearances and his FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 win, one of the most exciting finals in history.
In his own words, Messi tells the definitive story of his career with the Argentina national football team, providing an intimate and unprecedented look at his quest for a legacy-defining World Cup victory.
The docuseries is executive produced by Emmy winner Pastore, Emmy and Tony Award winners Smith and Carmody, and Emmy winner Renner of Smuggler Entertainment, alongside Jon Henion and Juan Camilo Cruz.
Filmmakers followed Messi throughout the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. From Qatar’s training grounds to the chaos of press junkets to the quiet contemplation of Messi’s private room, the series looks at the public and private worlds of Messi, as well as that of his loyal supporters across Argentina and those who made the pilgrimage to Qatar.
The series also features the most personal interviews to date with Messi, alongside conversations with teammates, coaches, competitors, fans, and commentators. The docuseries charts the dramatic path of his first match with the Argentina national football team where he was shown a red card in his first minute, to carrying the weight of a country on his shoulders through several elusive World Cup wins, leading to his early retirement in 2016, and ultimately the comeback to become a FIFA World Cup champion and be crowned the 2022 tournament’s best player.
The docuseries is produced for Apple by Smuggler Entertainment, and produced in association with Pegsa.
The 35-year-old Argentine soccer captain has teamed up with Sony Music Entertainment to develop a new animated series after winning the World Cup in Qatar.
The series will depict Messi as a child as he confronts obstacles while traveling throughout a videogame. It’s aimed at children and young adolescent audiences.
It’ll feature original music from Sony Music Entertainment artists and composers.
Messi is widely regarded as one of the best soccer players to ever grace the pitch and Argentina’s win in the final of the 2022 World Cup against France cemented that further, scoring two goals and winning man of the match.
He broke the record for the most appearance in the World Cup with 26 matches played and has scored 98 goals in 172 appearances for his country, in addition to 474 goals in 520 appearances for his former club Barcelona.
Since 2021, Messi has played for Paris Saint-Germain, where he has 18 goals in 46 appearances, and he has also won a record seven Ballon d’Ors, the award for the best player in the world.
The series will be produced in English, Spanish, and several other languages. Sony Music’s Premium Content Division, which is producing in partnership with Leo Messi Management, will oversee the development and distribution of the series. No network or streamer is currently attached.
Sony Music Entertainment is a record label and is also a podcast producer and is behind a number of documentaries, but this marks its first move into animation.
“Since I was a kid, I’ve always loved animated series and my kids are big fans of animated characters. Being able to participate in an animation project makes me happy, because it fulfills one of my dreams. I would like to thank Sony Music for joining this project and we hope that everyone will like the result, especially the girls and the boys,” said Messi.
“It is a privilege for Sony Music to collaborate with Lionel Messi on this project to showcase the power and lessons of sports in partnership with the greatest football player of all time and one of the greatest athletes in history,” added Fernando Cabral, EVP, Business Development, Latin-Iberia Regional, Sony Music Entertainment. “We look forward to bringing this heartwarming and humbling series to screens for audiences of all ages around the world.”
Lionel Messimay be playing Major League Soccer next season…
The 35-year-old Argentine professional footballer is reportedly close to an agreement with Inter Miami to join the team after the conclusion of the 2022-23 European season, according to the Sunday Times.
Messi would be the highest-paid player in MLS history and also the highest-profile player to ever play in MLS.
Inter Miami is co-owned by David Beckham, the man who made waves in the 2000s when he came to MLS to play for LA Galaxy.
The Sunday Times also reports that Inter Miami is looking to recruit players who have played with Messi previously in Europe to join him in the United States.
Messi currently plays for Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in France’s Ligue 1 after playing most of his career at Barcelona. Messi established himself as one of the best players ever at Barcelona and has won a record seven Ballon d’Or awards given to the best player in soccer.
Messi joined PSG ahead of the 2021-22 season after he couldn’t come to a contract agreement with Barcelona amidst the club’s financial issues. Messi scored 474 goals in 520 LaLiga appearances for Barcelona and tallied a staggering 96 goals over 69 appearances over the 2011-12 and 2012-13 seasons as Barcelona was one of the best squads modern soccer history.
Messi’s contract with PSG is up at the end of the season and a possible move to MLS has long been rumored. It’s unclear how much he’d actually play for Inter Miami after he would join the team in 2023. Major League Soccer’s schedule doesn’t match up with the schedule for major European club soccer. Combine the overlapping schedules with the 2022 World Cup and Messi would be facing over 14 straight months of soccer without a break if he joined Inter Miami as soon as PSG’s season was over and immediately featured in the squad.
Lionel Messi is kickin’ his way to the top of the earnings charts…
The 33-year-old Argentine soccer star, who plays for FC Barcelona, is the top-earning Latinx celebrity on Forbes’ recently released The Celebrity 100 list, which ranks the world’s highest-paid celebrities of 2020.
Messi, who has been awarded both FIFA’s Ballon d’Or and the European Golden Shoe for top scorer on the continent a record six times, comes in at No. 5 with earning of $104 million.
His current contract with Barcelona is through 2020-21 and pays him more than $80 million annually. He also has a lifelong deal with Adidas, and he launched his own clothing line and opened his first retail outlet, The Messi Store, in September 2019 in Barcelona.
The World Health Organization (WHO) tapped Messi in March 2020 to help lead a worldwide campaign aimed at stopping the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Nipping on Messi’s heels is another soccer star and his former teammate… Neymar.
The 28-year-old Brazilian soccer player comes in at No. 7 on the list with earning of $95.5 million.
Neymar is currently on a five-year contract with Paris Saint-Germain through June 2022 worth $350 million in salary.
His transfer from Barcelona to PSG stands as the most expensive in the world at $263 million, which the French club paid in full ahead of his signing.
He’s the second most popular athlete on social media with a combined 244 million followers on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
Nike‘s Jordan Brand signed Neymar as its first soccer ambassador in 2016. In March 2020 its film unit released a movie about his life.
Jennifer Lopez is this year’s highest-paid Latina on the list.
The 51-year-old Puerto Rican superstar comes in at No. 56 on the list with earnings of $47.5 million.
One of the more popular celebrities when it comes to endorsements, J.Lo has deals with Versace, DSW, Quay sunglasses and her own fragrance.
In 2018, she played her final shows at Las Vegas’ Zappos Theater, grossing more than $100 million in two years–the top Vegas residency by a Latin artist. She tacked on another $55 million in 2019 ticket sales for her ensuing world tour, which included stops in Egypt, Israel and Russia.
Lin-Manuel Miranda makes his first appearance on The Celebrity 100.
The 40-year-old Puerto Rican actor/rapper/lyricist/composer and Broadway star, the creator of the hit musical Hamilton, comes in at No. 62 with earning of $45.5 million.
Disney acquired worldwide rights to the film version of Hamilton in February 2020 for $75 million. And he helped create a $1 million emergency relief fund to benefit artists impacted by COVID-19 in Puerto Rico.
Other Latinx celebrities making the list include Howie Dorough (as a member of Backstreet Boys); Sofia Vergara, the world’s highest-paid actress; Robert Trujillo (as a member of Metallica); tennis star Rafael Nadal; and Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez.
Forbes’ list ranks “front of the camera” stars around the globe using pretax earnings from June 2019 through May 2020 before deducting fees for managers, lawyers and agents. Figures are based on information from Nielsen Music/MRC Data, Pollstar, IMDB, NPD BookScan and ComScore as well as interviews with industry experts and many of the stars themselves.
In total, the 100 celebrities racked in a total of $6.1 billion in pretax earnings, which took a $200 million dip from last year after the pandemic halted — or rather redirected — lots of business models.
Here’s a look at the Latino/a celebrities who made the list this year:
No. 5 Lionel Messi, 33, Argentina, Soccer, $104 million
No. 7 Neymar, 28, Brazil, Soccer, $95.5 million No. 56 Jennifer Lopez, 51, USA (Puerto Rican), Entertainment, $47.5 million
No. 62 Lin-Manuel Miranda, 40, USA (Puerto Rican), Entertainment, $45.5 million No. 64 Howie Dorough (Backstreet Boys), 47, USA (Half-Puerto Rican), Music, $45 million No. 71 Sofia Vergara, 48, Colombia, Entertainment, $43 million
No. 78 Robert Trujillo (Metallica), 55, USA (Half-Mexican)Music, $40.5 million No. 80 Rafael Nadal, 34, Spain, Tennis, $40 million No. 91 Canelo Alvarez, 30, Mexico, Boxing, $37 million
The docuseries will premiere globally on February 21.
