Messi's Record $20.4 Million Salary Dwarfs Entire MLS Teams

Lionel Messi - File/AFP
Lionel Messi - File/AFP
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Messi's Record $20.4 Million Salary Dwarfs Entire MLS Teams

Lionel Messi - File/AFP
Lionel Messi - File/AFP

Lionel Messi's record $20.45 million annual salary from Inter Miami makes him by far the best paid player in Major League Soccer but also puts him ahead of the entire squads of 25 of the league's clubs, according to data released by the MLS Players Association on Thursday.

The players union regularly releases the full pay details of the entire league.

Messi has a guaranteed compensation of $20,446,667 made up of a base salary of $12 million plus various bonuses, AFP reported.

The figures from the players' union do not include the huge income the Argentine World Cup winner receives in commercial deals, endorsements and sponsorships from companies such as Adidas and Apple.

Messi signed his last contract with Spanish club Barcelona in 2017, a four-year deal that gave him the potential to earn 138 million euros per season including salary and add-ons.

Messi moved to Paris Saint-Germain in August 2021, after his contract with Barca ended and was reported to be earning between 30-35 million euros with the French club.

The 36-year-old joined Miami in July last year on a deal which runs until the end of the 2025 season but he may still be receiving payments from Barca.

Joan Laporta, the Barca president, said in January 2022 that the club were scheduled to make deferred salary payments to the player until 2025.

Toronto's Italian striker Lorenzo Insigne, who was MLS's best-ever paid player until Messi's arrival, was second on the list with a guaranteed income of $15.4 million from the Canadian club.

Messi's Spanish team-mate, Sergio Busquets, the 35-year-old former Barca midfielder, is the third top earner in the league on $8.8 million guaranteed.

Miami's former Barca duo of Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez and Spanish full-back Jordi Alba each earn $1.5 million per year.

Inter Miami's total wage bill is $41.68 million with Toronto second on $31.41 million. Current league champions, the Columbus Crew, had a total salary cost of $15.19 million, ranked 21st in the league.

Messi shares a dressing room with a number of team-mates earning just a tiny fraction of his income -- defender Noah Allen, a regular part of the matchday squad, earns a total of $91,383.

The average MLS salary is $594,390 in 2024 which is up 12.1% from last year.

Miami are able to pay Messi such a high salary because of the 'Designated Player' rule which was brought in to allow Los Angeles Galaxy to sign David Beckham in 2007 on a base salary of $6.5 million a year with his total deal earning him around $50 million in five years.

While Messi's income is huge by MLS standards it is well below the levels of top performers in other major sports in the USA.

Last year Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow signed a five-year deal worth $55 million per season, a new league record.

The NBA's top earner Stephen Curry of the Golden State Warriors makes $51.9 million.



F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
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F1 Seeks to Spice up Monaco GP with More Mandatory Pitstops

Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)
Ferrari’s Monegasque driver Charles Leclerc drives during the third practice session of the Formula One Monaco Grand Prix on May 25, 2024. (AFP)

Formula One's governing body is planning to spice up the showcase Monaco Grand Prix by forcing teams to carry out more pitstops.

The FIA said in a statement that an F1 commission meeting in London on Tuesday had discussed "proposals for Monaco-specific regulations" to promote less processional racing at the tight and twisty circuit.

"The commission agreed to increase the numbers of mandatory pitstops in the race," it added, without providing further details.

"These proposals will be further discussed by the sporting advisory committee in the coming weeks."

The current mandatory minimum is one pitstop per race.

Overtaking is extremely difficult around Monaco, with qualifying and pole position a much more crucial element than at other races.

The FIA said there would also no longer be any restriction on the number of gearboxes teams could use during a season as the reliability of current designs had rendered the regulation obsolete.