Lionel Messi Has a New Royal Caribbean Partnership  

Soccer superstar Lionel Messi has been named the official “icon” of Royal Caribbean’s newest cruise ship. 

The Inter Miami star will be welcoming the new Icon of the Seas cruise ship when it debuts in Miami next month, Royal Caribbean announced this week. 

“I’m thrilled and honored to join the Royal Caribbean family to celebrate the arrival of the game-changing Icon of the Seas,” said Lionel Messi, Royal Caribbean International’s Icon of Icon. “Icon is beyond anything else that’s out there for family vacations, with incredible never-before-seen features, all designed for making memories together.”

The new ship will have six waterslides, more than on any other Royal Caribbean ship; seven pools, a neighborhood geared at younger families and what the company promises will be “40 ways to dine, drink and be entertained.”

The Messi announcement comes after Royal Caribbean and Inter Miami already forged a partnership, making Royal Caribbean the team’s main partner and “official vacation partner.”

“Icon of the Seas is the culmination of more than 50 years of delivering memorable vacations, and it’s set to live up to its name in more ways than one when it changes the vacation industry in January 2024,” said Michael Bayley, president and CEO, Royal Caribbean International. “It’s that ability to make such a widespread impact and change the status quo that the Icon of Icon must personify, and Lionel Messi has proven to be the perfect example of that for years in the world of sports and most recently in introducing a new era of excitement and passion for fútbol in Miami and the U.S.”