BEIJING - Argentina superstar Lionel Messi is to branch out into the leisure industry and launch an amusement park in China in 2019, his partners in the venture said on Thursday (June 1).

The “Messi Experience Park” will have more than 20 attractions spread out on a site covering more than 80,000 sqaure metres in Nankin, south east China, which will be dedicated to his own likeness and achievements on the field.

The park will “immerse visitors in Messi’s universe, combining the latest attractions with spaces to take part in the top sport”, said audiovisual group Mediapro, who will run the venture alongside Chinese television group Phoenix Group and the Barcelona forward’s Leo Messi Management.

Mediapro operate several sports-related exhibition spaces and theme parks, including the Futbol Club Barcelona Museum for FC Barcelona.

According to Sky Sports, Messi, on a four-day trip to China to promote the park, said he hoped the attraction would increase the amount of children taking up football.

He said: “I hope to provide them the experience they never had before and to inspire them to pick up the sport early on.

“Hopefully, they will feel that I am around when visiting the park.”

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the Messi Experience Park is only the latest addition to a theme park boom in China, as international media companies look to tap into the exploding market for on-site entertainment in the region. According to World Travel Market and Euromonitor, theme park revenue in China will reach US$12 billion by 2020, overtaking both the U.S. and Japan, the world’s two largest markets today.

However, the Hollywood Reporter said that overseas operators will have to contend with local competition from Beijing-based real estate conglomerate Dalian Wanda Group, which has pledged tens of billions to building a network of 15 Chinese theme parks and vowed to dominate the sector over the next decade.

Five-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi, 29, was the second-highest paid sportsman in the world last year, according to Forbes, with an income of US$81.4 million (S$112.9 million), just behind his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo with S$135.8 million. AGENCIES