The MLS Players Association released its updated salary guide this week and it leaves no doubt: Lionel Messi is the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, with an annual base salary of $25m and $28.3m in guaranteed compensation after the contract extension he signed in October.
Those figures, published in the association’s guide, show Messi’s base has doubled since he arrived at Inter Miami in 2023 and place him well ahead of the rest of the league. LAFC’s Heung‑min Son is the next-highest earner with a $10.4m base and $11.15m in guaranteed compensation, while Rodrigo de Paul sits among the top three with $9.69m guaranteed — a sum that exceeds San Diego FC’s Hirving Lozano, who will receive $9.33m this season.
The numbers track with other outlets’ reporting of the extension: another compilation of the deal put Messi’s guaranteed compensation at $28.33m. The MLS Players Association salary guide lists both base salary and guaranteed compensation for every player and, in doing so, makes Messis’ earning power an explicit benchmark for the league (see Mls pay figures: Lionel Messi tops list with $28.3m guaranteed after October extension —
The financial math is joined by on-field performance. Messi has scored 59 goals in 64 regular-season MLS games, led the league with 29 goals last season, and has been named Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player in each of the two full seasons he’s played, 2024 and 2025. He also helped Inter Miami win the MLS Cup in 2025, accomplishments that underpinned the October extension and the jump in guaranteed pay.
The salary guide makes clear, though, that these public totals are partial. Official MLS figures do not include endorsement income, and they do not account for Messi’s option to acquire a stake in Inter Miami — elements that would raise his true economic footprint but are kept separate from the players association’s ledger. The guide likewise lists other top earners across the league: Josh Sargent ($5.27m guaranteed), Thomas Müller ($5.15m), and Timo Werner ($4.27m in California).
That exclusion creates a basic mismatch in how observers compare players. On paper, Messi’s $28.3m guarantee already dwarfs the next-highest guaranteed figure — Son’s $11.15m — but once endorsements and equity options are considered, public numbers understate the size and complexity of top-tier contracts. The league’s published guide is authoritative for salary and guarantee comparisons, yet it cannot capture the totality of compensation that flows to marquee names like Lionel Messi through commercial deals or ownership stakes.
Inter Miami’s roster construction also stands out in the guide. The club’s spending is highlighted by multiple high earners, with Rodrigo de Paul appearing alongside Messi among the league’s top-paid players — a dynamic that forced rival clubs to weigh both on-field impact and financial commitment. For MLS, the salary landscape the guide exposes is a snapshot of a league still balancing rapid growth, global recruitment and public transparency about pay.
Messi’s numbers will matter beyond record books: they set a new benchmark for negotiations around designated players and influence how clubs price elite signings. The most consequential fact the guide makes plain is this — in MLS today, guaranteed money and public salaries are only part of a wider compensation story; Messi’s package, already the largest shown in the league’s own roster files, will be the yardstick clubs use when deciding whether to chase similar talent or to build differently.
