MLS
- Miami, Toronto and LA Galaxy top the MLS salary chart
- Lionel Messi leads the individual rankings with a salary of $20.4 million
Associated Press
Thu, Oct 19, 2023, 10:21 BST
The three teams with the highest payrolls in Major League Soccer will all miss this season’s playoffs.
The Major League Soccer Players Association released its annual salary data on Wednesday. Miami tops the table with a payroll of $39.4 million based on total guaranteed compensation. Toronto FC has the second-highest payroll at $32.3 million, LA Galaxy is third at $25 million and LAFC is fourth at $20.8 million.
Before the final round of MLS games, Miami, Toronto and LA Galaxy have already been eliminated from the playoffs.
Cincinnati FC, winner of this year’s Supporters’ Shield, ranked 21st in the salary rankings with $14.3 million in total guaranteed compensation.
Does the cost of transferring Lionel Messi to MLS lie with the fans?
Lionel Messi’s annual compensation is higher than the entire payroll of all but three other MLS teams and double that of all players combined at Orlando City. Messi’s contract with Inter Miami is worth $20.4 million.
The 36-year-old star has a base salary of $12 million and total guaranteed compensation of $20,446,667, the players’ association said in its 2023 salary update. The MLSPA’s annual update does not include Messi’s stake in Inter Miami, nor his reported share of Apple TV+ subscriptions or jersey sales. The figure also does not include marketing or performance bonuses.
Messi has the highest total compensation in MLS, followed by Toronto’s Lorenzo Insigne at $15.4 million, Chicago’s Xherdan Shaqiri at $8,153,000, LA Galaxy’s Javier Hernández at $7,443,750, Federico Bernardeschi of Toronto with $6,295,381 and Sebastián Driussi of Austin with $6,022,500.
Messi is paid more than double the $9.6 million salary of Orlando City, which has the lowest salary in the league. He accounts for 4% of MLS’s total compensation of $501.9 million.
Messi has made three league starts and five games for Miami, playing a total of 283 minutes and scoring one goal. He also helped the team win the inaugural League Cup by scoring ten goals in seven games.
Josef Martínez is the second-highest compensated player in Miami at $4,391,667.
Two of Messi’s former Barcelona teammates who joined him in Miami are paid far less. Midfielder Sergio Busquets has a salary of $1.5 million and guaranteed compensation of $1,775,000, and defender Jordi Alba has a salary of $1 million and guaranteed compensation of $1.25 million. Dollar.
Other notable MLS acquisitions in mid-summer included Minnesota forward Teemu Pukki ($3.2 million and $3.55 million in total compensation), Nashville forward Sam Surridge ($2.5 million, $2,907. $639), Columbus forward Diego Rossi ($2,625,000, $2,677,000) and Atlanta midfielder Saba Lobzhanidze ($2,052,000, $2,150,750). ).
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