By By Sandro Angulo Rincón
On the night of Monday, August 4, 2024, three young individuals stealthily entered a luxurious house located in the municipality of Sant Josep de Sa Talaia, Ibiza, in the Balearic Islands of Spain, and spray-painted some of its walls with random black and red streaks using an air-compressed paint gun. The act, seemingly insignificant in terms of newsworthiness, became a widely covered story in the media when it was revealed that the “vandalized” property belonged to Argentine football star Lionel Messi.
The intriguing aspect of this incident, captured on video, is that the clandestine entry and subsequent defacement of the property were not motivated by settling a sports-related score nor were they actions typical of football ultras, but rather stemmed from an environmental issue. What does Messi have to do with climate change and global warming? For the three young individuals, members of the environmental activist group Futuro Vegetal, Messi is part of the wealthiest 1% of the global population responsible for 16% of global carbon emissions in 2019, an amount equivalent to the emissions of five billion people from the poorest two-thirds of humanity. These disproportionate emissions, according to the report Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99% by the NGO Oxfam, contribute significantly to climate change, climate inequality, and the deaths caused by extreme heat.
Source: Spanish Radio and Television Corporation (RTVE)
The footballer is also accused of purchasing this mansion for an outrageous 11 million euros, bought from a Swiss businessman who allegedly built it without a final construction license or a certificate of occupancy. Additionally, the house covers 568 m² of constructed area, features a 92-meter pool, and sits on approximately 16,000 m² of land. It is said to have been illegally built on non-urbanizable rustic land with the consent of local authorities. This story unfolded during the same week, Futuro Vegetal claims, in which nearly 200 workers were evicted from a settlement with no housing solution, and four people died due to extreme heat.
In the end, the environmental activists were seen holding a banner with the slogan “Help the Planet – Eat the Rich – Abolish the Police” to draw society’s attention to the responsibility of the wealthy in the climate crisis.
The Relationship Between Wealth and Carbon
Roger Best and Dennis Howard, authors of the book The Global Sports Industry, published in 2023, assert that considering three variables—(1) fan engagement, (2) sports products, and (3) sports participation—the global sports industry generates revenues of $2.3 trillion. The 2020 edition of Forbes magazine (see chart) had already reported that sports were the ninth most productive industry in the world, surpassing the profits of the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors.
The sports industry is driven by the talent of elite athletes in the most popular disciplines, who are paid high salaries to attract the attention of millions of followers. In addition, they hold valuable endorsement contracts with renowned brands and invest their surplus earnings in highly profitable ventures, ranging from acquiring their own sports franchises to investing in the stock market, aesthetic clinics, and real estate, to name just a few. This creates a cyclical phenomenon that occurs both during their active years and even after they retire from competitive activity, resulting in increasing levels of wealth accumulation and concentration. It is therefore common for the Celebrity Net Worth portal to include many athletes among the world’s millionaires (see table).
| Name | Sport | Nationality | Net Worth |
| Michael Jordan | Former Basketball Player | United States | $2.6 billion |
| Anna Kasprzak | Dressage Rider | Denmark | $1 billion |
| Lionel Messi | Footballer | Argentina | $850 million |
| Cristiano Ronaldo | Footballer | Portugal | $800 million |
| LeBron James | Basketball Player | United States | $800 million |
| Dwayne Jonhson (The Rock) | Former Wrestler | United States | $800 million |
| Tiger Woods | Golfer | United States | $800 million |
| Edie Jordan | Former Racing Driver | Ireland | $600 million |
| Michael Schumacher | Former F1 Driver | Germany | $600 million |
| Roger Federer | Former Tennis Player | Switzerland | $550 million |
| David Beckham | Former Footballer | England | $450 million |
| Floyd Mayweather | Former Boxer | United States | $400 million |
| Neymar | Footballer | Brazil | $350 million |
| Kevin Durant | Basketball Player | United States | $300 million |
| Lewis Hamilton | F1 Driver | England | $300 million |
| Serena Williams | Former Tennis Player | United States | $300 million |
| Tom Brady | Former American Football Player | United States | $300 million |
| Fernando Alonso | F1 Driver | Spain | $260 million |
| Saúl (Canelo) Álvarez | Boxer | Mexico | $250 million |
| Novak Djokovic | Tennis Player | Serbia | $240 million |
Specifically, this small and privileged group of the population plays a key role in the climate crisis for three reasons: (1) the carbon emissions they generate in their daily lives through consumption, such as the use of yachts and private jets; (2) their investments in shares of highly polluting industries; and (3) the undue influence they exert over the media, the economy, and policymaking to justify and sustain their lavish lifestyles.
They also buy, hoard, and concentrate ownership of multiple properties, not to live in them permanently, but to speculate on them (reducing supply to drive up prices) or to use them sporadically for vacations, as in the case of Messi in Ibiza, while many families in both the Global North and South struggle to pay mortgages or access affordable housing for purchase or rent.
The connection between this ostentatious lifestyle and the environmental crisis is highlighted in the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s (IPCC) Fifth Assessment Report of 2014. This report scientifically documents the impacts of climate change and the carbon footprint caused by tons of CO2 emissions from the burning of fossil fuels. However, it is not necessary to wait for warnings from researchers and academics to realize that we have long been suffering from extreme weather conditions, loss of biodiversity, reductions in water or snow, air pollution, rising sea levels, the spread of vector-borne diseases, and environmental disasters (floods, wildfires, droughts, tsunamis, storms).
Georgina Rodríguez Hernández, wife of Portuguese football star Cristiano Ronaldo, recounts her exotic travels on the family’s private jet in the Netflix series Soy Georgina, whether to attend a fashion event in Paris, take one of her children to a museum in Abu Dhabi, or fly a tattoo artist from Madrid to Turin for a personalized tattoo, without acknowledging the environmental consequences. Indeed, research by transportenvironment.org concludes that such private jet trips can emit two tons of CO2 in just half an hour (the average European Union resident emits 8.2 tCO2eq in an entire year). These flights are 5 to 14 times more polluting than commercial planes (per passenger) and 50 times more polluting than trains.
It is therefore commendable that the three young activists have taken up the mantle of defending the Earth and have shown themselves to be immune to the influence of uncritical journalism, which promotes the spectacle of sports. It is not easy to challenge mass idols without facing the rejection of their followers and the risk of legal action. According to the Argentine newspaper La Nación, Messi filed a lawsuit in the Spanish courts, demanding compensation of 50,000 euros from members of Futuro Vegetal for vandalizing his property in Ibiza. On which side will justice fall?
A poll gauging readers’ opinions on the matter can be found in the comments section of La Nación. One comment, from user alejandrogomez66, states: “While I agree that they should pay for the repairs, I also can’t help but think that we need to raise awareness about the environmental impact of such a construction in an idyllic setting. The energy required for such comfort must be astronomical… Do you really need two huge pools like that for just 12 people? Then don’t talk about global warming while boarding a private jet or bringing croissants from France. Coherence, please!”
Another comment from user jeromitojunior reads: “Doesn’t a mansion like that have any security staff? … Strange… At least a caretaker… For Messi, fixing this is like us repainting a sidewalk, but it’s not fair, they should pay and provide compensation.”
And user mojeda12 adds: “Surely these vandals must be using cell phones that pollute more than the property of the GENIUS.”
And where do you stand? Write to us.
In light of COP 16, the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, an international event held in Cali, Colombia, from October 21 to November 1, 2024, in the next edition of Agon&Areté, we will reflect on sports as both part of the problem and part of the solution to the environmental crisis.
Support independent and critical journalism by following us on Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
