For all the stadiums, trophies and record books associated with Lionel Messi, some of the most lasting chapters of his Barcelona story were written far from the football pitch. One of them took shape through a project aimed at children facing cancer. The Leo Messi Foundation was among the organizations that helped bring the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center Barcelona to life, creating a specialist facility where treatment, research and family support could exist under one roof, states an online report on Bein Sports. Scroll down to read the details.
From an idea to a landmark centre
According to Bein Sports, the project was promoted by Hospital Sant Joan de Déu, with the Leo Messi Foundation involved before construction even began. Its early contribution helped finance the centre’s architectural development and supported the launch of the fundraising campaign. The foundation later became one of the project’s 10 founding donors. In October 2018, with €2.6 million still needed to reach the €30 million fundraising target required to secure construction, the Leo Messi Foundation and Stavros Niarchos Foundation stepped in to jointly provide the remaining amount the report adds.The centre eventually opened its doors in 2022, creating additional capacity to treat childhood cancer patients and allowing the hospital to attend to as many as 400 new cancer cases each year, claims the online report.
A wider commitment to children
The Barcelona cancer centre fits into a charitable effort that Messi has built over many years. His foundation, established in 2007, has focused largely on projects benefiting children and teenagers living in vulnerable circumstances.His work with UNICEF has been another important part of that commitment. Messi became a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 2010 and has since supported initiatives involving education, health and child protection.In 2012, the Leo Messi Foundation contributed funding to the Sports for Peace programme in Colombia, which used sport to support young people living in communities affected by violence. Five years later, the foundation helped finance 20 prefabricated classrooms in Syria, enabling more than 1,600 children affected by conflict to return to school, the report also states.
Taking the mission beyond Barcelona
Messi’s move to Inter Miami added another chapter to that work. In 2025, the Inter Miami CF Foundation and UNICEF began a three-year partnership supporting educational programmes for children in Argentina, El Salvador, Haiti, Honduras and Mexico. Messi also contributed to the partnership through an unusual fundraising project. He selected his header against Manchester United in the 2009 Champions League final as his favourite career goal and worked with artist Refik Anadol to transform it into a digital artwork, A Goal in Life. Christie’s later auctioned the piece for $1.87 million, with proceeds benefiting several nonprofit organizations, including initiatives connected to the Inter Miami-UNICEF partnership.
A different kind of Barcelona legacy
Messi’s life away from football has also expanded into hospitality, real estate, gastronomy and other business ventures. Yet the SJD Pediatric Cancer Center represents a different dimension of that legacy. It was not a one-off gesture but a project that developed over years, from architectural planning and fundraising to the eventual opening of a dedicated childhood cancer centre. Long after Messi’s playing days in Barcelona ended, the project left something tangible behind, a place built around children, families and the difficult fight against cancer.
