Lionel Messi has earned significant amounts since joining Inter Miami last summer.
The Major League Soccer club made a huge splash in the football world in 2023 when they officially announced the transfer of the Argentine star. The World Cup champion spent two years at Paris Saint-Germain after leaving Barcelona in 2021 but opted against staying with the French club after his contract expired.
After months of speculation, Messi joined David Beckham’s club to become the biggest transfer in MLS history. Just a few months after his debut, Messi led Inter Miami to victory in the League Cup, which was also the club’s first trophy in history.
Miami failed to secure a playoff spot in the previous season, but this season, the team is leading the Eastern Conference with 15 points from 9 matches played.
As expected, Messi became the highest-paid player in MLS upon joining the Miami club.
Considering how much other players in the American league are paid, the eight-time Ballon d’Or winner has a staggering salary.
Last October, the MLS Players Association released information about Messi’s salary, among others.
The statistics revealed that Messi receives a base salary of $12 million per year, approximately €11.3 million, as reported by “Sport Bible,” cited by “Gazeta Express.”
Additionally, he also receives an extra $8.4 million (€7.9 million) in contract bonuses.
On top of all this, the former Barcelona and PSG player also earns significant sums from contracts with renowned companies such as Adidas and Apple.
Furthermore, he receives a share of the revenue from Adidas jersey sales, as Adidas is the technical partner of MLS, and from MLS’s lucrative contract with Apple TV for broadcasting matches.
These agreements bring Messi an annual income ranging between $50 million and $60 million (€47 million to €56 million).
This was also stated by Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas to “El Pais” when Messi signed with the American club.
Based on these statistics, Messi earns between $960,000 (€903,800) and $1.15 million (€1.08 million) per week.
He joined the new club on July 16, 2023, meaning Messi has been part of life in Florida for 39 weeks.
So, since joining Inter Miami, Messi has earned somewhere between $36 million (€33.8 million) and $45 million (€42.3 million) through salary, bonuses, and marketing agreements.
With $20.4 million per year (€19.1 million), Messi is by far the highest-paid player in MLS, considering only salary and bonuses, excluding marketing.”
