Lionel Messi is officially the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer history.
Messi will make $20,446,667 in guaranteed compensation in 2023, with a base salary of $12 million, according to the MLS Players Association in its traditional second salary release of the season. Lorenzo Insigne, Toronto FC’s Italian star, is the next-highest earner at $15.4 million in guaranteed compensation, which is also the second-highest salary in MLS history.
Advertisement
There is a steep drop-off after those two players. Only 14 players have earned more across their careers in MLS than the $20.45 million Messi will make in his first season in the league. Miami pays Messi more than the entire wage bill of 25 MLS franchises, with Toronto, LA Galaxy and LAFC the only exceptions.
Messi’s high salary comes as no surprise, but it’s important to dive into what these salary numbers mean. The MLSPA guaranteed compensation figure comes from a calculation based on the annualization of both base salary and any guaranteed bonuses Messi will receive over the life of his contract. If, for example, Messi got a $20 million signing bonus this year, that would represent $8 million in guaranteed compensation across his 2.5-year contract, on top of the $12 million base salary.
The guaranteed compensation figure does not typically include performance bonuses. The Athletic previously reported that Messi would make “in the twenties” of millions per year, but that the number would fluctuate depending on his performance triggers. Messi reportedly earned €41 million ($43.2 million) net after taxes with Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi’s salary figure also doesn’t include important compensation he received when joining Inter Miami, including equity in the club when he retires. Inter Miami was valued at $585 million last year, but that valuation is expected to have increased with Messi’s signing and the ongoing construction of a $1 billion stadium. Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas told CNBC this summer he believes the valuation will reach between $1.3 and $1.5 billion.
Messi’s MLS compensation listed by the MLSPA also does not include deals he signed upon joining the league with corporate partners including Apple, Adidas and Fanatics.
The salary release also included key information on Miami’s other signings.
According to the release, Sergio Busquets is making just $1.775 million in guaranteed compensation in 2023, while Jordi Alba is making $1.25 million. The Athletic previously reported Busquets was making around $26.3 million at Barcelona, but that his offer to stay in 2024 was for around $8 million. Both Busquets and Alba were reported to have deferred compensation from Barcelona to help with the club’s financial issues and were owed tens of millions in payments from the club. The Athletic previously reported Alba received a chunk of the €36 million ($39.8 million) in salary and deferrals he was due from Barcelona when he decided to leave with one year left on his contract, which could help make up for the difference in wages.
Advertisement
MLS’s three under-22 initiative players are making far less than the ex-Barcelona crew in guaranteed compensation, as the U-22 rule requires that players must make less than the MLS maximum budget charge of $651,250. Facundo Farías makes $525,000, Diego Gómez makes $504,167 and Tomás Avilés makes $387,500.
More takeaways from around MLS
Beyond South Beach, the MLSPA release provided a few other headline-worthy findings. Insigne’s guaranteed compensation skyrocketed from $7.5 million this spring to $15.4 million. The Athletic previously reported that Insigne was upset at how his compensation was reported in the first release of the MLS salary information.
An MLSPA spokesperson said the PA relies on documentation from MLS and “at the time of the previous release, we did not have an ancillary agreement for additional compensation. That was since provided to us and so we added that into the system, creating the discrepancy.”
The highest-paid new signings were a pair of strikers brought over from England: Teemu Pukki of Minnesota United ($3.55 million) and Sam Surridge of Nashville SC ($2.91 million). Pukki has scored 10 goals for the Loons, while Surridge has two in league play for the Coyotes after adding three in the Leagues Cup.
Four teams close the season without rostering a single player earning over the designated player salary threshold of $1,651,250: the New York Red Bulls (10th in the Eastern Conference standings entering Decision Day), Orlando City (2nd in the East), the San Jose Earthquakes (9th in the West) and Western Conference champion St. Louis City SC.
Orlando has the league’s lowest wage bill with a guaranteed salary spend of $9,642,918. The Lions sold their former highest-earner (striker Ercan Kara, who earned $2.05 million) this summer, with ready-made replacement Duncan McGuire having joined in the 2023 SuperDraft on a salary of $77,360. Kara had five goals to show for 852 minutes at the time of his sale to Samsunspor; McGuire, a 22-year-old drafted out of Creighton, has scored 11 times in 1,366 minutes as a rookie.
Advertisement
The sum of all players’ guaranteed compensations across the 29 teams (plus 10 players without a club on the league’s ledger, a group headlined by Jozy Altidore) comes out to $501,923,704 in wages. The average salary across all 924 players is $543,207. The league’s median salary is $282,125, the midpoint between the 462nd highest earner (Jonathan Pérez of the LA Galaxy, $283,000) and the 463rd (Indiana Vassilev of St. Louis, $281,250).
With the regular season set to conclude on Saturday, only five of the league’s 29 teams have been eliminated from playoff contention. We now know that three of that quintet also serve as the top three spenders in terms of player salaries.
(Photo: CHANDAN KHANNA/AFP via Getty Images)