Lionel Messi's salary: How one man's pay outpaces entire MLS teams?

Lionel Messi doesn’t just play Major League Soccer—he dominates it, both on and off the field. For the third consecutive year, the Argentine superstar stands as the highest-paid player in MLS, raking in a staggering $20.45 million in total compensation. That’s more than the entire payroll of 21 of the league’s 30 teams.

 

His base salary? A cool $12 million, not including performance bonuses or private arrangements with Inter Miami and its affiliates. Throw in marketing bonuses and agent fees, and Messi’s contract—running through 2025—looms large over the financial landscape of American soccer.

 

Inter Miami’s financial power play

 

Thanks in large part to Messi, Inter Miami now boasts the league’s highest payroll at $46.8 million. That’s nearly double every team except two: Toronto ($34.1 million) and Atlanta ($27.6 million). Even with the hefty investments, the gap between the haves and the have-nots has never been more pronounced.

 

Montreal brings up the rear with just under $12 million, while Philadelphia barely edges them out at $13.4 million. 

 

The rising millionaire class

 

The league now features 11 players earning $5 million or more, up from nine last year. A total of 50 players make over $2 million, and 131 players earn seven figures—a sharp rise from just 115 the year before. The league-wide salary pot has ballooned to $586 million, marking a 12.9% increase over 2024 and a whopping 48.7% since 2022.

 

New faces, big cheques

 

MLS’s spending spree also brought in several headline newcomers. Hirving Lozano ($7.63 million), Jonathan Bamba ($5.58 million), and Olivier Giroud ($3.68 million) made their mark on the books. Others, like Atlanta’s Emmanuel Latte Lath and Charlotte’s Wilfried Zaha, joined the millionaire club with impressive first-year figures.

 

American stars and paychecks

 

Among US national team players, Walker Zimmerman leads with $3.45 million, followed by Jordan Morris, Jesus Ferreira, and Miles Robinson—all comfortably in the seven-figure zone. But even with patriotic pride on the line, no American comes close to Messi’s mammoth earnings.

 

Then there are rising stars like Patrick Agyemang, making just $104,000 despite three Gold Cup goals, and Salt Lake’s Diego Luna at $499,833—a reminder that MLS’s wage gulf runs as deep as its ambition.  (With inputs from news agency AP)