Messi earns $70-80m a year from InterMiami and MLS deals

Few players in the history of the game have changed the economics of a club quite like Lionel Messi has at Inter Miami CF.

Club owner Jorge Mas revealed this week that Messi’s total compensation package sits somewhere between $70 million and $80 million per year once every element of the agreement is factored in. This includes Messi’s eventual ownership stake in the club.

“The reason that I need to have sponsors and for them to be world class is because players are expensive,” Mas said. “I pay Messi – worth every penny – but it’s $70 million to $80 million a year. Across everything.”

The headline number is far larger than Messi’s official salary figure. According to the MLS Players Association salary release, the World Cup winner earns a base salary of $12 million, with $20.45 million in guaranteed compensation once bonuses are included, making him the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, ahead of Son Heung-min at Los Angeles FC.

Before Messi signed in 2023, Inter Miami was valued at around $585 million. Today, according to Forbes, the club is worth roughly $1.35 billion. Quite simply, the Messi effect has already rewritten the franchise’s balance sheet. When he arrived in South Florida, the agreement included equity in Inter Miami, a clause that fundamentally changes the economics of the contract.

Exactly how large Messi’s stake in the club remains unclear, and it will only activate once he retires. But Mas’s estimate suggests the value of that ownership component alone could be worth at least $60 million per year if the structure remains the same through Messi’s extension, which runs to the end of the 2028-29 season.

At the end of the day, Messi matters because he moves ticket prices, global TV audiences, merchandise sales, and sponsorships, all of which have surged since his arrival. But sustaining that momentum will be the key to the bottom line and the ROI when he departs.