Lionel Messi is not the Richest MLS Player. In Miami, Leo Plays with the Heir to a Billion-Dollar Fortune
Leonardo Campana is a travel and adventure enthusiast.
Lionel Messi is one of history's most successful and highly paid footballers. Still, with an approximately $650 million fortune, he is not the wealthiest in his Inter Miami club. Among the legendary Argentine's partners is a player whose family is twice as wealthy.
The 23-year-old Ecuadorian Leonardo Campana is considered the heir to a $1.5 billion fortune.
The footballer's mother, Isabelle Campana, owns large agricultural estates, real estate, and tourism properties.
Father Pablo Campana is a well-known Ecuadorian politician and businessman. A few years ago, he was the country's Minister of Trade. Now, he is the CEO and founder of a large real estate development company in his homeland.
Campana Senior was a professional tennis player. He represented Ecuador during the tennis tournament at the Atlanta Olympics. In 1996, Pablo was ranked 165th in the ATP rankings, and a year later, he retired. However, the 51-year-old businessman loves football no less than tennis. It is no coincidence that he is friends with his son's club owner, David Beckham.
It was the father who brought young Leonardo to football school. At the age of 16, Campana Junior signed a contract with Barcelona. Not the Spanish one, where Messi was playing at the time, but from Guayaquil in Ecuador. At 19, the forward debuted in the country's youth team and won the South American championship, becoming the tournament's top scorer. He then took part in the U20 World Cup in Poland.
The forward's move to Europe could have been more successful. Campana tried to break into the Wolverhampton youth team but failed. After a brief loan at Portuguese Famalicao and Swiss Grasshoppers, Leo returned to America and signed a contract with Inter Miami. He scores in almost every other game for the MLS club.
Transfermarkt values the 23-year-old forward at €3.5 million; he has scored 20 goals in 52 MLS games. In addition to football, Campana has several advertising contracts that allow him not to ask his parents for financial help. Leonardo loves to travel; he travels to different parts of the world with his girlfriend, Ariana.
Among the footballer's hobbies is skydiving; generally, his life is complete. He posts photos of flights in the sky on social networks, from holidays in the Galapagos or Hawaii.
Campana also has a passion for painting. Leonardo is interested in pop art and collects images by contemporary authors.
Among his friends in Miami is the famous artist Leonardo Idalgo.
Campana, of course, is happy to play with Messi. In an interview, he admits that Lionel gives the team "peace of mind, hints on the field, talks before matches, and does not put himself above others, even though he is capable of doing anything on the field."
Published by Patrick Jane
22.02.2024