Lionel Messi is paid up to US$80 million a year by Inter Miami, says club owner

Messi, 38, signed a new three-year contract at Miami in 2025, keeping him at the club into his 40s. Read more at straitstimes.com.

MIAMI – Lionel Messi, the Argentinian football superstar, is paid between US$70 million (S$89.5 million) and US$80 million a year by Inter Miami when including equity rights and player compensation, club owner Jorge Mas said.

Messi, 38, signed a new three-year contract at Miami in 2025, keeping him at the most valuable Major League Soccer (MLS) franchise into his 40s.

The full terms of that contract were not made public, but he is expected to be a partial club owner when he stops playing, given the structure of the agreements since he arrived in 2023.

To help pay for one of the greatest players ever, along with his cast of older stars like Luis Suarez and Rodrigo de Paul, Mas leans heavily on sponsorship and other commercial deals, representing about 55 per cent of the club revenue.

Media rights, which are hugely important for most major sports franchises, are just 2 per cent of revenue for Miami, Mas said.

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