·
The
'Messi Experience Park' will celebrate achievements of Lionel Messi
·
Theme
park will open in Beijing in 2019 in collaboration with Phoenix Group
·
Barcelona
ace wants park to encourage children to play football from young age
·
Statement
read: 'I hope to provide them with an experience they've never had'
Chinese fans will be able to celebrate the achievements of Barcelona great Lionel Messi at a new theme park to be built in Beijing.
The Messi Experience
Park, which is being launched by the five-time Ballon d'Or winner in
collaboration with Chinese broadcaster Phoenix Group and Spanish media company
Mediapro, is set to open in 2019.
The theme park will have
20 indoor and outdoor attractions in a 42,000 square metre space which will
'immerse visitors in Messi's universe,' a statement from the player's Leo Messi
Management group said.
I hope to provide them with an experience they have never had before and encourage people to play football from an early age,' he told reporters.
David Xirau, director of
Mediapro Exhibitions said the theme park will 'use the most advanced
technology' to combine attractions with spaces to play the world's most popular
sport.
Companies from China
have invested heavily in foreign clubs in recent years as President Xi Jinping
has called for the country to develop a world-class soccer industry.
Chinese ambitions for
soccer have also extended to spicing up the domestic league with a clutch of
high-profile signings.
Messi is Barcelona's
highest-paid player, earning an estimated £35million per year, which is set to
increase this summer as he is expected to sign a bumper new long-term contract
with Barca, where his current deal runs until 2018.
Messi's image rights
have come under the spotlight since he was charged with avoiding £4m of tax on
his commercial earnings between 2009 and 2011.
He was found guilty of
tax fraud along with his father Jorge last year, and handed a prison sentence
of 21 months and a fine of £1.7m.
His appeal was rejected by
the Supreme Court last month although he is unlikely to go to prison
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