Lionel Messi owns a car collection that is said to be worth tens of millions of dollars. Besides supercars, this striker also owns an expensive private plane.
Messi’s plane is a 2004 Gulfstream V, manufactured by Gulfstream Aerospace of the United States. The Gulfstream V is a commercial jet aircraft, introduced in 1997. Propelled by two Rolls-Royce BR700-710A1-10 jet engines, the Gulfstream V can reach a maximum speed of Mach 0.88 (equivalent to 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, the G-5 (nickname for Gulfstream V) was Gulfstream’s longest-range commercial aircraft model at the time of launch. 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.
According to Marca, Messi bought this plane at the end of 2018. However, The Sun and some newspapers in Europe said that this plane was rented long-term by “El Pulga”. However, with a lot of customization from the outside to the inside, there is a high possibility that this plane is owned by Messi. Obviously, this striker can afford to buy a plane 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 and fly to Paris on the evening of August 9 local time (early morning of August 10 Hanoi time).
This Gulfstream V is Messi’s second most expensive vehicle, ranked above the Pagani Zonda (worth 1.6 million USD) and below the 1957 Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti (more than 37 million USD). However, the supercar duo mentioned above are just rumors, no one has ever seen Messi appear next to the Pagani Zonda and Ferrari 335 S Spider Scaglietti.