The Watches of Lionel Messi

Lionel Messi is one of the greatest goal scorers in football history. The Argentine-born superstar has won a record six Ballon d’Or awards, the most prestigious honor for the sport.

He recently made the biggest football news of the year, with his stunning move to the Paris Saint-Germain team. This comes after 21 years of playing for FC Barcelona, where he spent his entire professional career. With all eyes on Lionel, his timepieces will be getting a fair share of the spotlight.

Here are the watches we spotted on the football legend’s wrist.

Lionel was wearing his Rolex Yacht-Master Everose during the contract signing with Paris Saint-German. The ref 116655 introduced a lot of firsts to the Rolex Yacht-Master line.

It was the first instance of a Rolex Yacht-Master made in solid Everose gold, Rolex’s patented 18k rose gold alloy, and the first from the line to be equipped with a Cerachrom bezel, Rolex’s proprietary ceramic alloy. Photo from GQ India on Instagram

This model was also the first Rolex to ever be presented with a rubber strap, called the Oysterflex. In true Rolex fashion, this wasn’t just any rubber strap, but a beautifully engineered bracelet with the flexibility of rubber and the durability of steel. At the core of the Oysterflex are metal inserts made of titanium and nickel, giving it a solid construction.

For more formal occasions, Lionel sports his Patek Philippe Nautilus in steel, with a silvery white dial. The steel Nautilus is considered one of the most desirable sports watches today, often with years-long waitlists.

Aside from the emblematic porthole inspired case and integrated bracelet that provides stunning continuity, the simple grooved dial and baton markers are also hallmarks of the Nautilus. The white dial comes with black surrounds for optimum legibility.

Lionel wears the time and date version of this timepiece, which also comes with a chronograph version as seen here. Photo from GOAL on Twitter

Lionel was also recently spotted with a modern iteration of the Rolex Datejust. The ref 126231 was introduced in 2018, with a slightly redesigned case and the new generation caliber 3235.

His choice is the on-trend combination of steel and Everose gold, with a striking dark rhodium dial. Baton hour markers with rose gold surrounds and a sleek Jubilee bracelet complete the look. Photo from Leo Messi on Instagram

Lionel is the current ambassador of New York-based Jacob & Co, a high watchmaking brand known for its creative and trend-setting timepieces. Lionel worked with the brand to develop a limited edition line of the Epic X Chrono, a chronograph watch with a skeletonized dial. Photo from Leo Messi on Instagram

In the early 2010s, Lionel was also an ambassador for Audemars Piguet and was often spotted with his classic stainless steel Royal Oak.

Lionel also collaborated with the house on a limited edition Royal Oak “Leo Messi” Chronograph. A sporty take on the classic Royal Oak, it was adorned with a lacquered dial instead of the signature Tapisserie dial, a tantalum bezel and a leather strap. Photos from Audemars Piguet