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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 2025.
Few players in the world can stir up global hype — and potentially double their team revenues — 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 Red Bulls’ Emil Forsberg earning $5.41 million. Forsberg won the 2021 Swedish Golden Ball while playing for his native Sweden.
Sebastián Driussi makes $4.5 million to come in fourth. Driussi was signed in 2021 by Austin and played in its inaugural season in the MLS. Driussi has played in his native Argentina and Russia before signing a two-year deal to play in the MLS.
Rounding out the top five is Christian Benteke of DC United. He earns $4.25 million as part of a two-year, $8.5 million deal signed last August. Benteke earned $67.41 million during his time in the English Premier League.
Seven of the ten highest-paid MLS forwards play in the Eastern 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: March 31, 2025
| Rank | Player | Team | Total Compensation |
| 1 | Lionel Messi | Inter Miami | $12 million |
| 2 | Lorenzo Insigne | Toronto FC | $7.5 million |
| 3 | Emil Forsberg | NY Red Bulls | $5.41 million |
| 4 | Christian Benteke | DC United | $4.25 million |
| 5 | Carles Gil | NE Revolution | $4 million |
| 6 | Hany Mukhtar | Nashville SC | $3.8 million |
| 7 | Hugo Cuypers | Chicago Fire | $3.24 million |
| 8 | Joseph Paintsil | LA Galaxy | $3.14 million |
| 9 | Federico Bernardeschi | Toronto FC | $3.13 million |
| 10 | Denis Bouanga | LAFC | $2.92 million |
| 11 | Ryan Gauld | Vancouver Whitecaps | $2.88 million |
| 12 | Luis Muriel | Orlando City | $2.83 million |
| 13 | Olivier Giroud | LAFC | $2.8 million |
| 14 | Diego Rossi | Columbus Crew | $2.68 million |
| 15 | Ezequiel Ponce | Houston Dynamo | $2.56 million |
| 16 | Sam Surridge | Nashville SC | $2.5 million |
| 17 | Aleksey Miranchuk | Atlanta United | $2.4 million |
| 18 | Liel Abada | Charlotte FC | $2.3 million |
| 19 | Albert Rusnák | Seattle Sounders | $2.15 million |
| 20 | Kévin Cabral | Colorado Rapids | $1.95 million |
| 21 | Cristian Espinoza | San Jose Earthquakes | $1.82 million |
| T-22 | Peter Musa | FC Dallas | $1.8 million |
| T-22 | Mikael Uhre | Philadelphia Union | $1.8 million |
| 24 | Jonathan Rodríguez | Portland Timbers | $1.78 million |
| 25 | Jordan Morris | Seattle Sounders | $1.7 million |
Related lists:
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