Messi spent $17.6 million buying the Gulfstream V at the end of 2018. This plane can reach a speed of 940km/h and a maximum range of 12,000km.

As the highest paid player in the world today, Lionel Messi owns a car collection  that is said to be worth tens of millions of dollars. Besides the supercar, this striker also owns an expensive private jet.

Messi and his family on a private jet. Photo: The Sun.

Messi’s plane is a 2004 Gulfstream V, manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace of the United States. The Gulfstream V is a commercial jet, introduced in 1997.  Powered by two Rolls-Royce BR700-710A1-10 turbofan engines, the Gulfstream V can reach a top speed of Mach 0.88 (equivalent to Mach 0.88). 940km/h) and a cruise speed of Mach 0.83 (equivalent to 882km/h).

Gulfstream V can reach a maximum altitude of about 16km, a maximum range of 12,000km. With this number, G-5 (nickname of Gulfstream V) is Gulfstream’s longest-range commercial aircraft model at the time of launch.

The Gulfstream V was purchased by M10 in late 2018 for $17.6 million. Photo: Miketheavgeek.

With the dimensions of length x width x height of 29m x 28m x 8m, respectively, Messi’s plane has enough room for 14 passengers and 4 crew members.

Inside, this model has 2 bathrooms and a private kitchen. On long flights, 16 seats for passengers can be converted into 8 beds. Originally, the interior space of Gulfstream V was luxurious with materials such as leather and wood. However, Messi’s plane has been upgraded inside.

The steps up and down the plane are engraved with the names of Leo (Messi), his wife Antonella and 3 sons, Thiago, Mateo, and Ciro. The tail of the plane comes with the number 10, the number associated with Messi’s entire career at Barcelona.

The names of members of Messi’s family are engraved on the stairs to get on and off the plane. Photo: Goal.

According to Goal , all customizations on Messi’s plane are done by a tuning company in Argentina. Therefore, Messi’s Gulfstream V costs up to 17.6 million USD. Meanwhile, a similar car, the same model in 2008 has a current price of about 13-15 million USD.

According to Marca , Messi bought this plane at the end of 2018. However, The Sun and some newspapers in Europe claim that the plane was leased by “El Pulga” for a long time. However, with a lot of customization from the outside to the inside, it is highly likely that this plane is already owned by Messi. Obviously, this striker has more than enough money to buy planes with a salary of more than 70 million euros, equivalent to more than 83 million USD per year.

According to European media, Messi will sit on this Gulfstream V flying to Paris on the evening of August 9 local time (morning of August 10, Hanoi time).

This Gulfstream V is Messi’s second most expensive vehicle, ahead of the Pagani Zonda ($1.6 million) and below the 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti (more than $37 million). However, the supercar duo mentioned above just stopped at the level of rumors, no one has seen Messi appear next to the Pagani Zonda and Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti.

Inside the plane, Messi spent more money to customize. Photo: The Goal.

In recent years, high-income individuals in the football world have begun to turn to more expensive and luxurious vehicles than supercars. In 2019, Neymar spent $15 million on an Airbus H-145 helicopter. After a year, Ronaldo spent more than 7 million USD to buy the yacht Azimut Grande.