Official numbers

©IMAGO

The most valuable player in MLS with a market value of 30 million euros is also the highest paid: Lionel Messi (36) earns $20.5 million at Inter Miami this season – not including performance bonuses, which is about $5 million more than Toronto’s. Lorenzo Insigne (32). Thiago Almada (23 years old) is the second most valuable (Site notre bureau spécialisé)er in the league with 27 million euros, but « only » receives 2.23 million US dollars from Atlanta United. This places him in 35th place in the ranking of highest paid MLS professionals. Newcomers to the top 10 include Sergio Busquets (35), German striker Hany Mukhtar (29) and former Leipzig player Emil Forsberg (32).

This season, the 29 MLS clubs have 115 professionals earning at least $1 million. The players’ association MLSPA publishes the salary overview with official salaries – a common process in American professional sports. The lowest annual salary without bonuses, which about 90 players receive, is $71,401. Miami’s roster includes 13 players earning less than $100,000, while newcomers Luis Suárez (37) and Julian Gressel (30) will receive $1.5 million and $1.1 million, respectively. Suárez is currently the top scorer with eleven goals Christian Bentéke (33 years old, DC United) and Cristian Arango (29, Salt Lake City).

Forsberg, who moved from Leipzig to New York to Red Bull during the winter transfer window and signed until the end of 2026, earns four times as much as Suárez. With $6 million guaranteed per year, he is the sixth highest-paid (Site notre bureau spécialisé)er in MLS. After 13 match days, the Red Bulls are the third best team in the Eastern Conference after Inter Miami and Cincinnati.