💵 Messi tops MLS salary rankings, Müller and De Paul miss out

The latest salary update from the Major League Soccer Players Association (MLSPA) confirmed what was expected: Lionel Messi remains the highest-paid athlete in the league, earning over $20 million annually (approximately R$ 117 million).

This amount is more than double that of any other player, except for Heung-min Son, who recently joined Los Angeles FC and holds the second spot.

It’s worth noting that Messi’s new contract has not yet appeared on the official list, as the MLSPA update is valid until October 1, 2025.

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Inter Miami remains the club that invests the most in salaries in MLS , with three players among the league’s five highest-paid athletes and leading the overall payroll.

Meanwhile, Toronto FC dropped from second in spending to 27th place after the departures of Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi.

Among the mid-year signings, Son Heung-min leads with a salary of $11.15 million (R$ 64 million).

Another highlight from Inter Miami is Sergio Busquets , who earns R$ 50.6 million.

Müller and De Paul out of the top 10

Thomas Müller, from Vancouver Whitecaps , earns $1.44 million (R$ 8.3 million) this season, but his salary will be adjusted in 2026 when he officially becomes a Designated Player.

Rodrigo De Paul, from Inter Miami , has a guaranteed salary of $3.67 million (R$ 21 million), but his contract is structured as a loan with an option to buy, keeping the values within the league’s salary cap.

In MLS , a Designated Player is one whose salary exceeds the maximum allowed by the league, but without fully impacting the club’s salary cap.

Each team can have up to three Designated Players per season, allowing them to sign high-value stars.

Top 10 MLS salaries in 2025:

Beckham Rule

The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows MLS franchises to sign up to three players who would otherwise be outside their salary cap, either by offering the player higher salaries or paying a transfer fee for the player.

The rule, which was adopted before the 2007 MLS season, allows teams to compete for famous players in the international football market.

The rule is one of two mechanisms by which MLS teams can exceed their salary cap, the other being allocation money.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 CHANDAN KHANNA - AFP or licensors