Lionel Messi tops Major League Soccer’s earner list with Ksh3B
Lionel Messi remains the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer with an annual base salary of Ksh3.23 billion, more than double that of the North American league’s next-highest earner.
Figures released by the Major League Soccer (MLS) Players Association reflect the contract extension that Messi, who turns 39 next month, signed with Inter Miami in October 2023.
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The Argentina forward’s base salary has doubled, while overall, the deal is worth Ksh3.65 billion in guaranteed compensation.
Top three
Los Angeles Football Club’s Son Heung-min is the second-highest earner on a base of Ksh1.34 billion, with Ksh1.45 billion guaranteed. The former Tottenham and Bayer Leverkusen forward, 33, earns slightly more than Inter Miami’s Rodrigo de Paul and San Diego FC’s Hirving Lozano.
No endorsement deals
The salaries do not include income from endorsement deals or Messi’s option to acquire a stake in Inter Miami—co-owned by David Beckham.
Messi joined the Florida franchise in 2023 and has scored 59 goals in 64 regular-season MLS games, helping Miami win the MLS Cup in 2025.
He led the league with 29 goals last season and has been Most Valuable Player in each of the two full MLS seasons he has played so far, 2024 and 2025.
In March 2026, the MLS club announced that it would be naming one of their stands in honour of the Argentine great.
Inter Miami said, “Traditionally, tributes look to the past. They are built from nostalgia. From memory. This one is different. This one is born from the present.
“From what is happening right now. From what you feel every time Leo steps onto the pitch.
Unique gesture
“Recognising someone is not always about closing a chapter. Sometimes it is about realising you are witnessing something unique.”
Messi’s arrival at the Florida club has raised the profile of the league and Inter Miami’s status, as well as delivering success in the form of the Leagues Cup, Supporters’ Shield, and MLS Cup.
Among his major individual awards in MLS is being the first player in league history to win the MVP award in consecutive seasons (2024 and 2025). He also became the fastest player in MLS history to reach 40 career goal contributions in regular-season play.
