Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer for the third straight year with total annual compensation of $20,446,667 – an amount greater than the entire payroll of 21 MLS teams.
Messi’s base compensation is $12m the Major League Soccer Players Association said on Wednesday. His total figure of $20.4m covers his MLS deal, which runs through the 2025 season, and includes any marketing bonus and agent’s fees. They do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses.
Messi’s salary is just one data point in the first of two annual salary releases by the MLSPA, with the second traditionally coming in the fall. The release lists the salaries of every MLS player, accurate in this case up to late May.
The latest release revealed that MLS players’ average guaranteed compensation is $649,120, up 9.2% from $594,389 in May 2024.
Messi’s Inter Miami topped the league with a record $46.8m payroll as of 23 May, up from $41.7m at the end of last season. Miami’s payroll was double that of all teams other than Toronto ($34.1m) and Atlanta ($27.6m). Cincinnati are fourth at $23.2m, followed by the defending champion LA Galaxy ($22.9m), Los Angeles FC ($22.4m) and Chicago ($22.1m). Expansion San Diego are 10th at $20m.
Montreal have the lowest payroll of the league’s 30 teams at just under $12m. Philadelphia are 29th at $13.4m.
Toronto winger Lorenzo Insigne is the second-highest earning player at $15.4m in total compensation, followed by Miami midfielder Sergio Busquets ($8,774,996), Atlanta winger Miguel Almirón ($7,871,000), San Diego winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano ($7,633,333), Toronto winger Federico Bernardeschi ($6,295,381), New York Red Bulls winger Emil Forsberg ($6,023,625), Miami left-back Jordi Alba ($6m), LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig ($5,779,688), Chicago winger Jonathan Bamba ($5,581,806) and Nashville midfielder Hany Mukhtar ($5,311,667).
Eleven players earn $5m or more, up from nine at the start of last season, and 50 earned $2m or higher, an increase from 44. There were 131 at $1m or more, up from 115 at the start of last year.
Total compensation of all 902 signed players was $586m, up 12.9% from $519m at start of 2024, 27.4% from $460m at the start of 2023 and 48.7% from $394m at the beginning of 2022.
In addition to Lozano and Bamba, other notable newcomers include Atlanta forward Emmanuel Latte Lath ($4,030,546 in total compensation after arriving from Middlesbrough), Cincinnati forward Kévin Denkey ($3.81m), Charlotte winger Wilfried Zaha ($2,751,667) and New York Red Bulls forward Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting ($3,530,667).
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Los Angeles FC forward Olivier Giroud is at $3,675,000 and Portland midfielder David Da Costa at $3,425,000.
Among US national team players, Nashville defender Walker Zimmerman had total compensation of $3,456,979, Seattle winger Jordan Morris $2.26m, Seattle forward Jesús Ferreira $1,828,960, Colorado midfielder Djordje Mihailovic $1,775,000, Cincinnati defender Miles Robinson $1,650,171, Seattle midfielder Cristian Roldán $1,666,000, San Diego midfielder Luca de la Torre $1,535,331, Charlotte defender Tim Ream $1,127,750, Colorado goalkeeper Zack Steffen $1m, Cincinnati right-back DeAndre Yedlin $948,750 and Colorado defender Reggie Cannon $841,500.
Charlotte forward Patrick Agyemang, who has three goals for the US in the Concacaf Gold Cup, earns $104,000. Other Gold Cup players include Salt Lake midfielder Diego Luna at $499,833, goalkeeper Matt Freese at $420,000 and defender Alex Freeman at $108,000.
