Inter Miami’s Messi continues to lead MLS salary ranks, LAFC’s Son comes in second
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Djordje Mihailovic’s move to Toronto FC came with a $503,000 bump in pay (all figures in U.S. dollars), according to the latest salary figures released by the MLS Players Association.
The 26-year-old American playmaker has gone from a salary of $1.775 million with the Colorado Rapids to $2.278 million with Toronto. That increase will be pro-rated this season given his new deal came with his Aug. 7 trade.
Mihailovic tops the TFC salary chart but at a far smaller number than Italians Lorenzo Insigne ($15.4 million) and Federico Bernardeschi ($6.295 million), whose contracts were bought out midseason.
German star Thomas Mueller also comes at a reasonable price, at least for this season.
The Vancouver Whitecaps are paying Mueller $1.437 million, which will be also pro-rated since he signed as a free agent in early August. That ranks second to Scottish star Ryan Gauld’s $3.675-million salary
The 36-year-old Mueller has a designated player contract option for 2026.
Under the MLS’s labyrinthine salary rules, only a certain amount of a designated player’s pay counts against a team’s salary budget (in 2025, a DP who was 24 or older cost $743,750 against the salary cap budget of $5.95 million). Clubs can also use general allocation money to buy down a DP’s salary cap charge (to no lower than $150,000).
Mihailovic and Gauld are both designated players.
Whitecaps winger Ali Ahmed continues to be one of the league’s top bargains. The 25-year-old Canadian international is earning $159,375, which ranks 20th among the Whitecaps.
Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi, continues to lead the league at $20.447 million. The 38-year-old Argentine captain signed a contract extension last week that runs through the 2028 season.
Spanish stars Sergio Busquets ($8.775 million) and Jordi Alba ($6 million) are next on the Miami salary chart, although both are retiring at the end of the season.
Rodrigo de Paul ($3.619 million), Luis Suarez ($1.5 million) and Tadeo Allende ($1 million) are other Miami players making seven-figure salaries.
Second behind Messi in guaranteed pay is LAFC forward Son Heung-min at $11.153 million. The South Korean captain arrived in early August from England’s Tottenham.
Busquets ranks third, followed by Atlanta’s Miguel Almiron ($8.775 million), San Diego’s Hirving (Chucky) Lozano ($7.871 million), the New York Red Bulls’ Emil Forsberg ($6.036 million), Alba, Los Angeles Galaxy’s Riqui Puig ($5.780 million), Chicago’s Jonathan Bamba ($5.582 million) and Nashville’s Hany Mukhtar ($5.312 million).
The MLSPA figures, accurate as of Oct. 1, reflect guaranteed pay (unless pro-rated due to the player joining the league midseason),
Giacomo Vrioni topped CF Montreal players at $2.248 million this season. Montreal declined his 2026 contract option after the injury-plagued Albanian striker scored four goals in 10 appearances in all competitions since arriving last winter via a trade with New England.
Spanish midfielder Ivan Jamie, signed in August, and German forward Prince Owusu are next on the Montreal pay list at $1.991 million and $1.008 million, respectively.
Toronto FC captain Jonathan Osorio leads Canadian MLS players at $1.183 million, followed by TFC fullback/wingback Richie Laryea at $1.169 million.
Other Canadians of note include Vancouver defender Sam Adekugbe ($963,000), San Jose midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye ($800,000), LAFC midfielder Mathieu Choiniere ($698,780), Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau ($648,333), Minnesota goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair ($631,875) Montreal’s Sam Piette ($561,016) and Chicago’s Joel Waterman ($555,400).
Toronto FC midfielder Jose Cifuentes, an Ecuadorean international who arrived in August in loan from Glasgow Rangers, is earning ($1.405 million), second only to Mihailovic.
New England’s Matt Turner is the highest-paid goalkeeper at $1.943 million. St. Louis ‘keeper Roman Burki is next at $1`.708 million.
LAFC goalkeeper Hugo Lloris’ pay is listed at $700,000.
—
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 29, 2025