Nobody had “Lionel Messi swings through Manhattan with Peter Parker” on their bingo card for July 2026. And yet here we are.
What Actually Happened
Sony Pictures dropped a promotional video for Spider-Man: Brand New Day on June 30, 2026, featuring Messi entering a New York coffee shop and using the in-universe Spidey Tracker to search for Spider-Man.
Tom Holland’s Peter Parker slips into a back room, emerges in the suit, and the two of them launch into a web-swinging adventure across the city skyline.
The footage is a marketing stunt timed to the World Cup knockout stage, not a scene from the actual film. Messi is not in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. He is just in the trailer. That distinction matters.
How Much Did He Actually Make?
This is the question. Claims spread rapidly on X that Messi earned $15 million for the roughly 20 seconds of screen time, amplified by social media accounts and picked up by several entertainment outlets.
However, Sony, Marvel, and Messi’s representatives have not confirmed or disclosed any financial details about the deal. Mainstream outlets have found no primary sourcing for the $15 million figure and fact-checkers have labelled it unverified.
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What we can do is estimate. Forbes placed Messi’s total earnings in the year leading up to the World Cup at roughly $140 million, split evenly between football and commercial deals. His Michelob Ultra Super Bowl appearance in 2024 carried an estimated value of around $14 million.
Based on his existing endorsement market, analysts estimate the Spider-Man collaboration sits somewhere between $1 million and $5 million, as it is an entertainment crossover rather than a traditional national advertising campaign.
The $15 million figure circulating online is probably a stretch. But even the conservative estimate for 20 seconds of Messi’s time is a number that would make your eyes water.
The Reaction
Fans on X were predictably unhinged about it.
One wrote:
“Messi and Spider-Man in the same movie? The theatre would literally erupt. Absolute cinema.”
Another called it
“the crossover nobody expected.”
Argentine fans immediately started demanding Julián Álvarez get his own version of the trailer, with one user joking that Messi probably thought the Spidey Tracker was a tool to find his teammate.
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The clip drew around 2.9 million views on X and more than 1.1 million on YouTube within hours of dropping. Messi scored six goals in the World Cup group stage in the same week. The man is genuinely operating on a different planet right now.
Spider-Man: Brand New Day is in theatres July 31. Tickets are available now at spidermanbrandnewday.movie.
