Lionel Messi's salary has been officially disclosed by the MLS, who published the top ten highest-earners in the league.
Ahead of the next round of MLS fixtures, MLSPA (MLS Players Association) have shared information on player wages for the third year running as part of a collective bargaining agreement that runs until 2027.
The data has been recorded as of September 15 and to the surprise of nobody, Messi is the highest-paid player in the American top tier.
The Inter Miami star has a base salary of $12 million but he is also entitled to an extra $8.4 million through signing-on fees and bonuses.
Messi signed a deal with the Herons in July and Inter owner Jorge Mas had told El Pais that he would earn between $50 million to $60 million per year.
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That factors in Messi's unique arrangements, whereby he takes a cut of money earned from Adidas' shirt sales and the lucrative Apple TV deal.
Fellow Barcelona legends and now Inter teammates Sergio Busquets ($1.775 million) and Jordi Alba ($1.25 million) do not feature in the top ten but Gerardo Martino's side lead the wage bill with $39.419 million in "guaranteed compensation".
Messi earns more on his own than 25 of the 29 MLS outfits.
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Former Napoli star Lorenzo Insigne, now at Toronto, and ex Liverpool, Bayern Munich and Stoke winger Xherdan Shaqiri complete the top three with total salaries of $15.4 million and $8.1 million respectively.
Javier 'Chicharito' Hernandez of LA Galaxy ($7.44 million) and Federico Bernardeschi ($6.3 million) - another Italian plying their trade at Toronto - both make the top five.
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Douglas Costa ($4.5 million) and Christian Benteke ($4.43 million) are also other notable names in the top ten.
List in full:
10.Josef Martinez - Inter Miami - $4.39 million
9.Christian Benteke - D.C United - $4.43 million
8.Douglas Costa - LA Galaxy - $4.5 million
7,Hector Herrera - Houston Dynamo - $5.24 million
6.Sebastian Durassi - Austin FC - $6 million
5.Federico Bernardeschi - Toronto - $6.29 million
4.Javier Hernandez - LA Galaxy - $7.44 million
3.Xherdan Shaqiri - Chicago Fire - $8.1 million
2.Lorenzo Insigne - Toronto - $15.4 million
1.Lionel Messi - Inter Miami - $20.4 millio
Topics: Lionel Messi, MLS, Inter Miami
Josh Lawless