Messi still highest-paid player in MLS

Lionel Messi has retained his status as Major League Soccer’s highest‑paid player, with the MLS Players Association confirming the Inter Miami star earns a league‑leading twenty‑five million dollars in annual base salary.

The updated salary release reflects the contract extension Messi signed in October, which secures his stay in Miami through the 2028 season. His base pay has doubled, while his guaranteed compensation now totals twenty‑eight point three million dollars. Son Heung‑min, who joined Los Angeles FC last summer for a record transfer fee, ranks second with a base salary of just over ten million dollars and eleven point two million in guaranteed earnings.

The figures exclude endorsement income and do not account for Messi’s option to acquire a stake in the club. Messi has scored fifty‑nine goals in sixty‑four MLS matches and won consecutive MVP awards. Rodrigo De Paul, Hirving Lozano and Miguel Almirón complete the league’s top five earners.