Bethesda: Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi earned more than the entire payrolls of 22 other Major League Soccer teams, and Olivier Giroud has $3,675,000 in annualised total compensation under the contract he signed to join Los Angeles FC in July.
The Major League Soccer Players Association released its salary update on Thursday and Messi’s $12 million base salary and $20,446,667 in total compensation from Inter Miami remained the same as in the initial listing in May.
Those figures cover what Messi receives from his MLS deal, which runs through the 2025 season, including any marketing bonus and agent’s fees. They do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses.
Average guaranteed compensation rose 9.8% to $596,226 from $543,207.
Miami, the league’s regular-season Supporters Shield champion, led the league with a record $41.7 million payroll, double all but Toronto ($31.8 million), Los Angeles FC ($22.1 million), the LA Galaxy ($22 million) and Nashville ($21.9 million). Players on Cincinnati ($21 million) and Houston ($20.5 million) also totaled more than Messi. Montreal ($11.4 million), Philadelphia ($13.8 million.