MLS · Salaries

Highest-paid MLS players 2026: Messi at $28.3m, then a $17m gap to Son

MLSPA's 2026 salary guide puts Lionel Messi at $28,333,333, nearly three times Son Heung-min at $11.2m. The top 10, what hits the $6.425m salary budget, and the clubs paying them.

Footy Cap desk · 6 November 2026

Lionel Messi's 2026 guaranteed compensation at Inter Miami is $28,333,333, the highest in MLS and nearly three times the next player on the list: Son Heung-min at LAFC, on $11,152,852 (MLSPA; USA Today).

That $17.2m gap is the story at the top of the league's pay scale. The players' union published the figures in spring 2026 for players under contract as of 16 April. No later full release has replaced them.

The 2026 top 10

Messi, Son and Rodrigo De Paul ($9,688,320) take the first three places, ahead of Hirving Lozano ($9,333,333) and Miguel Almirón ($7,871,000). Sixth to tenth: Emil Forsberg, Sam Surridge, Riqui Puig, Jonathan Bamba and Hany Mukhtar, all between $5.4m and $6.0m (USA Today; mlssalaries.fyi).

What of that pay actually hits the cap

MLS does not cap what an owner can pay a player. It caps what counts against each club's salary budget. The 2026 Club Salary Budget is $6,425,000 for the top 20 roster spots, and no single player can count for more than $803,125 against it (MLS roster rules).

Designated Players are the way around that. A club may sign up to three players who earn more than the maximum budget charge. Each DP aged 24 or over counts $803,125, and "the club bear[s] financial responsibility" for everything above it (MLS roster rules). On the standard charge, Messi's $28.3m becomes an $803,125 hit. So do Son's $11.2m and De Paul's $9.7m.

Miami's three Designated Players are Messi, De Paul and Germán Berterame (MLSsoccer.com). How that works in detail is in our Messi salary and MLS cap explainer.

One player, most of the league's payrolls

Messi's $28.3m guaranteed pay is larger than the entire 2026 roster guaranteed compensation of 28 of the 30 MLS clubs. Only Inter Miami ($54,574,541) and LAFC ($32,648,541) clear him; Philadelphia Union, the leanest roster, sits at $11,696,829 (MLSPA via AP). Miami's payroll is 51.9% Messi; with De Paul the top two are already $38.0m of a $54.6m bill.

The clubs paying the top of the list

Inter Miami can carry a payroll that size because Sportico's estimate of its local revenue topped $200m in 2025, roughly half matchday and half commercial (Sportico). That is an estimate, not a filing. Against a $54.6m first-team payroll the wage share is about 27%. Our health grade is a B (76.1); debt is not scored because none is published. Net transfer spend over the three seasons to 2025-26 is €37.4m (Transfermarkt).

LAFC runs a smaller bill on a smaller base. Forbes puts revenue at about $167m and the union dump puts the roster at $32.6m, about 20% (Forbes; AP). Son alone is 34% of that payroll. The club grades an A (86.6) — leaner wages, still no published net debt — with €22.44m of net transfer spend over the same three seasons (Transfermarkt). After the summer window LAFC still held $480,389 of 2026 GAM, against Miami's $142,300 (MLS).

Quick answers

Who is the highest-paid MLS player in 2026? Lionel Messi, $28,333,333 in guaranteed compensation (MLSPA).

Who is second? Son Heung-min at LAFC, $11,152,852 (USA Today).

How much of Messi's pay counts against the MLS salary cap? $803,125 under the standard Designated Player charge for a player aged 24 or over (MLS roster rules). The rest is outside the budget.

Every club's payroll, GAM and grade are on the MLS page.

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