Article by Daniel Scorpie – Published on Wednesday, 13 May 2026, 10:26 / Updated on Wednesday, 13 May 2026 10:26
Argentina star Lionel Messi has doubled his salary to more than $25 million following his new deal with Inter Miami and now earns more than twice as much as the second highest paid player in Major League Soccer, Los Angeles FC's Hjun-min Son.
Messi's new contract includes a base salary of $25,000,000 and a guaranteed bonus of $28,333,333, the MLS Players Association announced in its first salary report for 2026.
Miami's $54.6 million payroll is more than $20 million more than second-place Los Angeles FC's at $32.7 million, and nearly five times that of league-lowest Philadelphia at $11.7 million.
Miami's payroll increased from $46.8 million at the start of last season. Toronto reduced its salary fund to $21.4 million from $34.1 million at the start of 2025, while FC Los Angeles increased it to $32.7 million from $22.4 million, BTA writes.
Lionel Messi's initial contract was modest
Messi's initial MLS contract, negotiated in July 2023, included a base salary of $12 million and a guaranteed annual salary of $20,446,667.
In October 2025, Messi agreed to a three-year contract until the 2028 season after leading the team to its first MLS title. The forward, who turns 39 next month, is the captain of current world champions Argentina and is expected to play in his sixth World Cup in June and July in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Messi has 59 goals in 64 regular season games with Miami, including nine in 11 games this season. He led MLS with 29 goals in the regular season last year and won his second straight MVP award.
His salary figures refer to his MLS contract and include all marketing bonuses and agent fees, but do not take into account any additional agreements with the team or his affiliates, or performance bonuses.
Son is second with a base salary of $10,368,750 and total compensation of $11,152,852, the same as his figures from last year. The 33-year-old winger joined FC Los Angeles last August.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul, who signed with Miami last summer, is third with a salary of $7,569,000 and total compensation of $9,688,320.
