Messi tops MLS salary list. Here are Inter Miami salaries, highest to lowest
Much to the delight of Inter Miami fans and Major League Soccer executives, Lionel Messi signed a contract extension last week that will keep him at the club at least through 2028. That news surely will boost ticket sales for the under-construction Miami Freedom Park Stadium, which is where the team will play home games starting in 2026.
Details of Messi’s new contract were not disclosed. The total package over his two-and-a-half-year current contract is valued at $150 million, which includes equity in the club upon his retirement.
This much we know: the 38-year-old Argentine star will most certainly continue to be the league’s highest-paid player.
According to the latest MLS Players Association salary guide, which was released on Wednesday, Messi will make $20,446,667 in guaranteed compensation this year with a base salary of $12 million. His new contract was not reflected in the list because the cutoff date was Oct. 1.
The salary figures reported do not include Messi’s major sponsorship deals with Apple TV, adidas, Anheuser-Busch, Hard Rock International and dozens of other companies.
It is no surprise that Messi and his former FC Barcelona teammates Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suarez are four of the five highest-paid players on the Inter Miami roster. Busquets’ guaranteed compensation is $8.8 million. Alba will make $6 million this season and Suarez $1.5 million.
Messi’s Argentina teammate and close friend Rodrigo De Paul, who joined the team over the summer, is fourth-best paid at $3.6 million. Tadeo Allende is the next highest at $1 million.
Behind Messi on the top 10 MLS salaries: Son Heung-Min (LAFC, $11.15 million), Busquets (Inter Miami, $8.8 million), Miguel Almiron (Atlanta United, $7.8 million), Hirving Lozano (San Diego, $7.6 million), Alba and Emil Forsberg (New York Red Bulls, $6 million), Ricky Puig (LA Galaxy, $5.8 million), Jonathan Bamba (Chicago Fire, $5.6 million), Hany Mukhtar (Nashville SC, $5.3 million).
Inter Miami has the highest payroll in the league at $48.97 million, followed by LAFC ($30.1 million), Atlanta United ($28.5 million), FC Cincinnati ($23.2 million) and Chicago Fire ($23.1 million).
Here are the salaries of all the Inter Miami players, listed highest to lowest by base salary. The guaranteed compensation includes signing bonuses and other guaranteed payments averaged over the length of the contract.
The list is through Oct. 1, so Yannick Bright’s new contract, which runs through 2028 and was announced Tuesday, will not be included. Despite being a key player the past two seasons, he was the lowest paid at $80,622 and got a substantial raise, according to sources.
Lionel Messi (right wing) Base Salary: $12,000,000, guaranteed compensation: $20,446,667
Sergio Busquets (defensive midfielder) Base Salary: $8,499,996, guaranteed compensation: $8,774,996
Jordi Alba (left back) Base Salary: $6,000,000, guaranteed compensation: $6,000,000
Rodrigo De Paul (midfielder) Base Salary: $1,500,000, guaranteed compensation: $3.619
Luis Suarez (center forward) Base Salary: $1,500,000, guaranteed compensation: $1,500,000
Tadeo Allende (winger) Base Salary: $1 million, guaranteed compensation: $1 million
Gonzalo Lujan (center back) Base Salary: $526,500, guaranteed compensation: $818,250
Oscar Ustari (goalkeeper) Base Salary: $696,000, guaranteed compensation: $744,000
Marcelo Weigandt (right back) Base Salary: $500,000, guaranteed compensation: $734,708
Fafa Picault (winger) Base Salary: $600,000, guaranteed compensation: $642,000
Allen Obando (forward) Base Salary: $500,000, guaranteed compensation: $527,885
Mateo Silvetti (forward) Base Salary: $490,000, guaranteed compensation: $547,078
Maxi Falcon (center back) Base Salary: $450,000, guaranteed compensation: $524,250
Benja Cremaschi (central midfielder) Base Salary: 400,000, guaranteed compensation: $502,500
Tomás Avilés (center back) Base Salary: $439,992, guaranteed compensation: $467,492
Baltasar Rodriguez (midfielder) Base Salary: $440,000, guaranteed compensation: $440,000
Telasco Segovia (midfielder) Base Salary: $300,000, guaranteed compensation: $335,000
Ian Fray (center back) Base Salary: $150,000, guaranteed compensation: $150,000
Will Yarbrough (goalkeeper) Base Salary: $150,000, guaranteed compensation: $150,000
Rocco Rios Novo (goalkeeper) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation $122,866
Santiago Morales (attacking midfielder) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation: $112,333
Israel Boatwright (right back) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation: $106,000
Noah Allen (left back) Base Salary: $125,000, guaranteed compensation: $184,653
David Ruiz (midfielder) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation: $135,887
Tyler Hall (center back) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation: $104,000
Ryan Sailor (center back) Base Salary: $104,000, guaranteed compensation: $104,000
*Yannick Bright (right back) Base Salary: $80,622, guaranteed compensation: $83,647
*Bright this week signed a new contract through 2028, and got a substantial raise, per sources, but that is not reflected on this list.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 1:38 PM.