Inside the waterfront Fort Lauderdale mansion Lionel Messi is eyeing

Fútbol superstar Lionel Messi may be purchasing a waterfront Fort Lauderdale mansion that traded hands earlier this year for $29.7 million, The Real Deal has learned. 

Messi, who joined InterMiami CF last month, has been house hunting across South Florida, primarily in Broward and Palm Beach counties, alongside his wife, Antonela Roccuzzo, and their children. One of the properties he toured and is eyeing is a spec estate at 633 Middle River Drive, photographs show. 

Anthony DeGradi, an owner of the ambulatory surgery operator Surgicore, and his wife Kristen DeGradi, paid $29.5 million for the property in March. Brothers Dov and Aldo Stark sold the 11,700-square-foot mansion. The DeGradis claim homestead exemption on a separate waterfront home that they also own in Fort Lauderdale, records show. 

The five-bedroom, seven-bathroom Middle River Drive mansion is laden with amenities. The 0.4-acre property includes a pool, spa, gym, rooftop terrace with a putting green, a helipad, movie theater and library. 

Austin Baris of Miles Goldstein Real Estate, who represented the DeGradis in their purchase, is working with Alan Eskenazi, also of Miles Goldstein Real Estate, on the potential deal with Messi and his wife, according to sources. Eskenazi can be seen in the photographs of Messi house hunting, posted by TMZ, the Daily Mail and others. Miles Goldstein and the agents declined to comment. 

The house is in a gated neighborhood with police patrol, according to the listing.

Messi, a longtime Barcelona player who won the World Cup championship last year for Argentina, has also been considering homes in Delray Beach and Boca Raton, the Palm Beach Post reported. Messi owns at least three condos in Sunny Isles Beach, including a unit at Porsche Design Tower, but he does not appear to be living in them. 

The mania surrounding Messi’s move to South Florida has been intense. A photo of him shopping at a Publix in Sea Ranch Lakes, a small town in Broward County, went viral on social media. 

Two years ago, Messi rented a waterfront mansion on Key Biscayne that was asking $200,000 a month. Messi was reportedly hounded by super fans and paparazzi who also tried to spot the soccer player from the water. 

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Messi to Miami: What that means for real estate

His deal with Inter Miami, the soccer team owned by Miami businessmen and brothers Jorge and José Mas, as well as David Beckham and other partners, is valued between $50 million and $60 million, plus equity in the team and revenue sharing agreements with Adidas, Apple and other companies. 

The team is playing at Drive Pink Stadium in Fort Lauderdale and training at a facility next door. A new stadium is planned as part of the Mas brothers and their partners’ planned massive mixed-use development on the Melreese golf course property in Miami, but it would be years before that project is completed.