The MLS continues to grow in revenue and expand its number of teams, partially thanks to the arrival of internationally known players.
Lionel Messi tops all MLS forwards as the highest-paid of 2024.
Few players in the world can stir up global hype — and potentially double their team revenue’s — like Messi. He makes $12 million a year playing for Inter Miami. His groundbreaking arrival in the MLS last summer caused a flurry of new attention league-wide.
Messi’s salary and career numbers put him far ahead of the rest of the list. He’s the only player earning over $10 million and the only one with over 200 career goals.
Coming in second is Lorenzo Insigne of Toronto. Insigne earns $7.5 million a season as their star forward. He’s signed until 2026 and is set to make $22.5 million in his time with them.
His 127 career goals are third among the top 10 highest-paid forwards.
Third on the list is Xherdan Shaqiri earning $7.35 million. He’s played for the Fire since 2022. Shaqiri is the last forward on the list to earn at least $7 million.
Red Bulls’ Emil Forsberg ranks fourth. He brings in $5.41 million a year sparking New York’s attack. Forsberg won the 2021 Swedish Golden Ball playing for his native Sweden.
Rounding out the top five is Sebastián Driussi. He makes $4.5 million playing for Austin. Driussi has played in his native Argentina and Russia before signing a 2-year deal to play in the MLS.
Eight of the ten highest-paid MLS forwards play in the Eastern Conference. Only Austin FC and Sporting KC make the top 10 list from the Western Conference.
Even though he doesn’t play in every MLS game, disappointing some clubs, Messi’s 594 career matches are over 100 more than the next closest player on the list.
Ranking The Highest-Paid MLS Forwards
Here is the entire list of the highest-paid MLS forwards. The list was compiled with data from Capology.
- Updated: July 3, 2024
| Rank | Player | Career Matches | Career Goals | Team | Total Compensation |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | 594 | 508 | Inter Miami | $12 million |
| 2 | Lorenzo Insigne | 414 | 127 | Toronto FC | $7.5 million |
| 3 | Xherdan Shaqiri | 368 | 68 | Chicago Fire | $7.35 million |
| 4 | Emil Forsberg | 410 | 97 | NY Red Bulls | $5.41 million |
| 5 | Sebastián Driussi | 252 | 85 | Austin FC | $4.5 million |
| 6 | Christian Benteke | 448 | 157 | DC United | $4.25 million |
| 7 | Carles Gil | 297 | 45 | NE Revolution | $4 million |
| 8 | Hany Mukhtar | 263 | 86 | Nashville SC | $3.8 million |
| 9 | Alan Pulido | 271 | 89 | Sporting KC | $3.6 million |
| 10 | Hugo Cuypers | 131 | 49 | Chicago Fire | $3.24 million |
| 11 | Teemu Pukki | 491 | 188 | Minnesota United | $3.2 million |
| 12 | Joseph Paintsil | 164 | 41 | LA Galaxy | $3.14 million |
| 13 | Federico Bernardeschi | 302 | 53 | Toronto FC | $3.13 million |
| 14 | Luciano Acosta | 300 | 69 | FC Cincinnati | $2.96 million |
| 15 | Denis Bouanga | 259 | 90 | LAFC | $2.92 million |
| 16 | Ryan Gauld | 197 | 47 | Vancouver Whitecaps | $2.88 million |
| 17 | Luis Muriel | 384 | 113 | Orlando City | $2.83 million |
| 18 | Diego Rossi | 235 | 77 | Columbus Crew | $2.68 million |
| 19 | Cucho Hernández | 204 | 61 | Columbus Crew | $2.6 million |
| 20 | Sam Surridge | 189 | 41 | Nashville SC | $2.5 million |
| 21 | Liel Abada | 86 | 22 | Charlotte FC | $2.3 million |
| 22 | Albert Rusnák | 299 | 62 | Seattle Sounders | $2.15 million |
| T-23 | Jesús Ferreira | 163 | 56 | FC Dallas | $2 million |
| T-23 | Raúl Ruidíaz | 231 | 133 | Seattle Sounders | $2 million |
| 25 | Kévin Cabral | 165 | 21 | Colorado Rapids | $1.95 million |
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