How much Lionel Messi earns at Inter Miami

Tom Weber

• Updated: 20 Oct 2023 09:35 BST
• 3 min read

Lionel Messi joined Inter Miami in the summer of 2023 in what was a very lucrative deal for the Argentine.

The second iteration of the 2023 Salary Guide, published by MLS Players Association, featured the World Cup winner for the first time and revealed for the first time how much Messi is paid by David Beckham's franchise.

The south Florida club and Major League Soccer at large had to get a bit creative in order to be able to make Messi an offer that could rival the massive bid made by Saudi side Al-Hilal, where the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner would have earned north of €1 billion over two years had he accepted.

READ: Lionel Messi’s PSG SECRET revealed ahead of Inter Miami transfer

Indeed, Messi's contract doesn't just include only wages and bonuses but also commercial revenue from MLS's sponsors and the league's broadcaster in what is an unprecedented deal in world football.

How much does Lionel Messi earn at Inter Miami?

When he signed, some rumours put Messi's annual Inter salary at £43 million (€50m) - which would have made him by far the highest-paid athlete in Miami - but the reality is quite the different.

Messi is 'only' paid a base yearly salary of $12 million (€11.4m) and a guaranteed compensation of $20.5m (€19.4m), making him by far the best-paid player in MLS history. Indeed, it has been revealed that Inter Miami, the league's biggest spenders, pay Messi alone more than 25 of the division's 29 teams do their entire roster in 2023.

In addition to the above-mentioned figures, Messi receives revenues from two other incredibly lucrative deals. As these income streams are fluid and ever-changing, the exact details of the earnings are not yet known.

In an interview in March 2023, months before the signing was announced, league commissioner Don Garber revealed that MLS was prepared to "run every opportunity" to bring Messi to the US. His Miami contract sees Messi earn a cut of the revenue generated by league broadcaster Apple TV, who are currently in the first year of a decade-long, $2.5 billion deal.

Moreover, Adidas, who supply the league's gear, balls and footwear, have come up with a profit-sharing agreement for Messi that will see the Argentine, who signed a lifetime contract with Adidas in 2017, receive a percentage of the MLS-related profits generated by the German sportswear manufacturer.

READ: Messi, Beckham and greatest MLS players ever

When the World Cup winner signed for PSG, the French club reportedly sold more than one million shirts, so the income from this Adidas accord could be considerable.

There have also been reports that Messi has been given the option to purchase a stake in an MLS club, similar to the arrangement offered to David Beckham which culminated in him establishing Inter Miami.

This page will be regularly updated as more details of Messi's Inter Miami contract emerge.