5 highest earners in the MLS (2023)
Major League Soccer (MLS) has emerged as a great destination for veteran footballers in the final leg of their respective careers. The MLS offers lucrative wage packages thanks to higher salary caps and designated player rules, whereby teams can sign up to three players outside their salary caps.
The league also provides an environment that's way less intense than Europe's top five leagues. The seasons are shorter and the fixture congestion that wears players down in Europe is absent as well.
In addition to this, with MLS teams being based out of major cities, the league offers players and their families an attractive lifestyle and cultural experience. Thanks to the combination of all these factors, more and more footballers are choosing to move to the MLS as they wind down their careers.
Without further ado, let's take a look at the five highest earners in the MLS.
#5 Federico Bernardeschi (Toronto FC) - $6.3 million
Federico Bernardeschi is a player who failed to hit the heights expected of him in Europe. With his Juventus contract expiring in 2022, the Italian winger decided to sign with MLS outfit Toronto FC and immediately became one of the American league's highest earners.
Bernardeschi reportedly earns $6.3 million in annual wages. However, his performances have not exactly been on par with his status as one of the highest earners at the club. The 29-year-old hasn't had much of an impact this season, scoring just three goals and providing two assists in 21 MLS appearances.
#4 Javier Hernandez (Los Angeles Galaxy) - $7.4 million
Former Manchester United striker Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez has been at Los Angeles Galaxy since January 2020. He was the MLS' highest-paid player at the time and has done a pretty good job for the club in his three-and-a-half seasons there.
In 83 appearances in all competitions for LA Galaxy, Hernandez has scored 39 goals and provided seven assists. Hernandez is Mexico's all-time leading goalscorer and is one of the most endearing strikers of his generation.
The 35-year-old has struggled this season, scoring just one goal ad providing one assist in nine appearances across the MLS and the US Open Cup this term.
#3 Lorenzo Insigne (Toronto FC) - $7.5 million
Fans were shocked to learn in January 2022 that Lorenzo Insigne had signed a pre-contract agreement with MLS club Toronto FC. After all, Insigne had been a standout performer and the captain of Napoli for several years at the time and had won the Euro 2020 title with Italy in the summer of 2021.
Having already crossed into his 30s, however, a lucrative package must have been too difficult to pass up for Insigne. He pockets as much as $7.5 million in wages annually at the MLS club.
In 27 appearances across all competitions since joining the club in 2022, Insigne has scored 10 goals and provided four assists.
#2 Xherdan Shaqiri (Chicago Fire) - $8.2 million
Xherdan Shaqiri joined Chicago Fire as the most expensive signing in the history of the club with the transfer sum reported to be around $6.5 million.
The Switzerland international also displaced Insigne as the highest earner in the league, signing a deal that sees him pocket $8.2 million in wages annually.
He has scored three goals and provided five assists in 21 appearances in all competitions so far this season. Shaqiri's experience at the highest level has benefitted Chicago Fire.
#1 Lionel Messi (Inter Miami) - $54 million
If it wasn't obvious already, Lionel Messi is the highest earner in the MLS. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner joined Inter Miami this summer upon the expiry of his contract with Paris Saint-Germain.
Messi, despite being 35, continues to be absolutely phenomenal and could turn things around for Inter Miami who are currently at the bottom of the Eastern Conference standings.
As per reports, Messi has become the highest earner in MLS by a humongous margin. The Argentina international is yet to make his debut for Inter Miami but reportedly rakes in $54 million annually in wages.