Lionel Messi paid $70M-$80M per year, Inter Miami owner says - ESPN

Inter Miami co-owner Jorge Mas revealed that captain Lionel Messi is paid between $70 million and $80 million a year, including the player's ownership shares, explaining the team's need to maximize sponsorship deals and additional forms of revenue.

Earlier this week, Miami signed a deal with Brazilian financial services company Nu, which will have the naming rights for the team's new stadium near Miami International Airport.

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Nu Stadium, a 26,700-seat facility that remains under construction, is scheduled to play host to its first match on April 4.

«The reason that I need to have sponsors and for them to be world class is because players are expensive,» Mas told Bloomberg in an interview published Friday. «I pay Messi — worth every penny — but it's $70 million to $80 million a year. Across everything.»

Messi currently stands as the highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, earning a base salary of $12 million with a guaranteed compensation of $20,446,667 according to the salary guide released by the MLS Players' Association.

ESPN has reported that Messi also benefits from other revenue streams such as his endorsement deal with Adidas and a revenue sharing agreement with league broadcast partner Apple.

After arriving at the club in the summer of 2023, Messi signed an extension with Inter Miami last October that will see him remain in South Florida through the end of the 2028 season.

In a recent interview with ESPN, Xavier Asensi, Inter Miami's president of business operations, revealed preparations to capitalize on the potential arrival of the