Lionel Messi Retains Spot as MLS Highest-Paid Player with £18.5m Salary
Inter Miami superstar Lionel Messi continues to dominate MLS earnings following his lucrative contract extension with the club.
- Messi earns a base salary of £18.5 million annually in MLS.
- The Argentine star remains the league’s highest-paid player.
- Son Heung-min ranks second among MLS top earners.
Lionel Messi has once again emerged as the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer (MLS), earning an annual base salary of $25 million (£18.5 million) with Inter Miami.
New salary figures released by the MLS Players Association show that the Argentine superstar earns more than twice the salary of the league’s next-highest-paid player.
The updated figures reflect Messi’s contract extension with Inter Miami signed in October. In addition to his base salary, the overall agreement is valued at $28.3 million (£20.9 million) in guaranteed compensation.
Messi, who turns 39 next month, continues to be one of the biggest attractions in North American football since joining Inter Miami in 2023.
Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min ranks second on the MLS earnings list with a base salary of $10.4 million (£7.7 million) and guaranteed compensation of $11.2 million (£8.3 million).
The South Korean international earns slightly more than Inter Miami midfielder Rodrigo de Paul and San Diego FC forward Hirving Lozano, who are also among the league’s top earners.
The salary figures released do not include endorsement deals or Messi’s option to acquire ownership stakes in Inter Miami, the club partly owned by former England captain David Beckham.
Since arriving in Florida, Messi has enjoyed remarkable success, scoring 59 goals in 64 MLS regular-season matches and helping Inter Miami win the MLS Cup in 2025.
He also finished as the league’s top scorer last season with 29 goals and has been named MLS Most Valuable Player in each of his two full seasons with the club.
