Lionel Messi is coming under fire after firing all the staff from a luxury hotel that his company recently acquired.
The PSG superstar has been investing and earning money in many different ways in the past few years. Although wages make up the bulk of his earnings, sponsorship endorsements also give Messi a sizeable financial boost.
He earned $33 million per year in endorsements from various companies, including Gatorade, Pepsi, Adidas, and Mastercard. The Adidas sponsorship is particularly lucrative, as Messi has a lifetime contract with them.
Lionel Messi also has found some entrepreneurial success in real estate. In 2017, Messi became the owner of MiM hotels, a company that owns numerous resorts in Spain. He currently owns hotels in Ibiza, Majorca, and Barcelona. However, the Argentine’s latest purchase in Cadiz has caused some controversy.
Messi’s new hotel
The hotel is known as MiM Sotogrande. Based in the southwest of Spain, it is a popular tourist destination due to its pleasant climate. The hotel has been a mainstay of the Sotogrande region, operating there for decades.
MiM’s latest purchase focuses on luxury, as it is a prime location for golf and water sports. The new owners are also aiming to be more environmentally friendly, with the plan of making the buildings eco-friendly where possible.
However, the company has not been very people-friendly with its cut-throat approach to employee management.
First act as owner
After taking over the hotel, Messi’s company decided to fire the current staff from the resort. Roughly 40 members of staff are now without a job. Some of the staff had reportedly been employed at the hotel for decades. Despite this, they have still been relieved of their duties.
Unsurprisingly, people are not happy about the decision by MiM hotels. The drastic actions taken here may also go against EU labour law. This route could be something that may be looked into by locals.
Reaction from the locals
Mayor of San Roque, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, explained his disappointment at the firings.
“I had a staff with experience of 25 to 30 years. Unfortunately, the first news that has reached them from the new hotel group is their dismissal!”
Ruiz Boix has offered help to those who lost their jobs by reaching out to MiM. The intention of contacting MiM is to try and get the people their jobs back.
“The hotel has a regular clientele who spend the summer there for more than 20 years,” he said. “We are not going to allow the first decision to be the dismissal of great professionals.”
“It is unjust and inexplicable. We will fight for the staff to get their jobs back when the hotel re-opens.”
The hotel is due to re-open in April 2022. Between now and April, Messi and his group may have a lot of issues to resolve.
