Lionel Messi more than doubled his salary to $25m (£18.5m) in his new contract with Inter Miami and earns more more than twice as much as the second-highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, Los Angeles FC’s Son Heung Min.
Messi’s new contract includes $25m in base salary and more than $28m in guaranteed compensation, the MLS Players’ Association said in its first release of 2026 salaries. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner earns more than the payrolls of 28 of the other 29 MLS teams.
Miami’s $54.6m (£40.4m) is more than $20m (£14.8m) higher than LAFC, which is second at $32.7m (£24.2m), and nearly five times as much as Philadelphia’s league-low $11.7m (£8.65m). Miami’s payroll is up from $46.8m (£34.6m) at the start of last season.
Total league compensation was $631m (£467m) and the average guaranteed compensation of $688,816 on 16 April was up nearly nine percent from the start of October.
Messi signed a new three-year contract through the 2028 season in October before leading Inter Miami to its first MLS title.
The Argentina captain has 59 goals in 64 regular-season games with Miami, including nine in 11 matches this season. He topped the MLS scoring charts with 29 goals last season and won his second straight MVP award.
His salary figures are for his MLS contract and include any marketing bonus and agents fees but do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses.
Son is second at $10,368,750 (£7.7m) in base salary and $11.2m (£8.3m) in total compensation, the same as his figures last season. The 33-year-old winger joined LA from Tottenham last August.
Among the other highest earners in the league after former Newcastle creator Miguel Almiron ($7.9m; £5.84m) and Vancouver Whitecaps’ Thomas Muller, who earned $5.15m (£3.81m) after leaving Bayern Munich last summer.
Cincinnati centre-back Miles Robinson ($3.95m; £2.92m) was the top earner among likely inclusions in Mauricio Pochettino’s United States squad for the 2026 World Cup.