Lionel Messi tops the list of the 10 highest-paid players in MLS, surpassing the salary budgets of 22 of the 28 clubs participating in the tournament.

Messi’s team won a ticket to the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.

Accordingly, Messi is receiving a salary of up to 20.4 million USD per year at Inter Miami. However, that is only a part of the Argentine striker’s income in the US. The former Barca star is estimated to receive 50-60 million USD if including the sharing of the television copyright agreement with Apple TV.

Messi’s salary far exceeds the rest of the league. In the next positions in MLS are Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC, 15.4 million USD/year), Sergio Busquets (Inter Miami, 8.77 million USD/year), Sebastían Driussi (Austin FC, 6.7 million USD/year).

Messi’s salary is larger than the total salary of 22 other teams in the league. Inter Miami also leads the MLS salary table with $41.7 million per year. The heavy investment has helped the team to rise.

Inter Miami recently won the Supporters’ Shield (most points in the MLS scoring phase) with a record 74 points. Thanks to that, they have won a ticket to the FIFA Club World Cup next year.

Messi’s presence has contributed to a 9.7% increase in the average salary of MLS players, reaching $596,226 per year.

FIFA Club World Cup 2025 – the world club championship will take place in June and July next year in an expanded version of up to 32 teams.

Currently, 31 teams have been confirmed, the remaining spot for the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup will belong to the 2024 Copa Libertadores champion. The tournament draw is expected to take place in December this year.