Major League Soccer

LIONEL MESSI is unsurprisingly earning the big bucks at Inter Miami. And the World Cup winner isn’t just the highest earning player currently in the MLS, but is also the biggest earner in the history of the league.
Lionel Messi’s Inter Miami salary has been revealedCredit: AFP
Messi signed for the MLS outfit this summerCredit: Alamy
New figures released by the MLS Players Association reveal that the global superstar is earning a whopping $20.4m (£16.8m) per season with his new club.
The Argentine is said to be earning base salary of $12m (£9.8m) with a further $8.4m (£6.9m) coming in the form of guaranteed bonuses and signing on fees.
And those figures are just a drop in the ocean of what he is reported to be earning when his sponsorship deals with Apple, Adidas and Fanatics are taken into account.
Inter Miami owner Jorge Mas previously revealed that all-in-all Messi’s contract would see him earn between “$50m (£41.1m) to $60m (£49.4m) per year”.
READ MORE ON MESSI
But even without his added sponsorships, Messi dwarves his competitors in the battle for the biggest pay cheque.
Lorenzo Insigne is the league’s second highest earner, collecting $15.4m (£12.7m) from Toronto FC each season.
While former Liverpool man Xherdan Shaqiri earns the third most in the MLS with his $8.1m (£6.7m) per season contract.
In fact Messi is earning so much that he personally pockets more money from Inter Miami than the entire wage bill of 25 of the teams in the MLS.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS

Lorenzo Insigne is the second highest paid player in the MLSCredit: Alamy
Xherdan Shaqiri makes the third most in the league, but is still miles behind Messi’s earningsCredit: AP
Forgotten Premier League star Christian Benteke is amongst the league’s top ten earners with his £3.6m per year salaryCredit: Getty
And his high profile teammates are earning pennies in comparison to the former Barcelona and PSG star.
Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets, who both followed Messi to Florida, are miles away from the salaries you would expect them to be collecting.
Busquets takes home $1.8m (£1.5m) every season while Alba earns slightly less with his yearly salary coming out to $1.25m (£1m).
But fans of the Herons may feel his compensation is justified with Messi already netting 11 times and providing five assists in just 13 appearances for the club.
Messi earns a staggering £15.8m more than teammate Jordi Alba each seasonCredit: AFP
Sergio Busquets is earning far less than Messi at Inter MiamiCredit: Getty More

THROW your mind back to 1999, when England had the likes of Alan Shearer, Michael Owen and Frank Lampard playing in a 2-1 win over Belgium in October.The Three Lions were managed by Kevin Keegan, with current England boss Gareth Southgate being named in defence.
One-cap England star Steve Guppy took up coaching after retiring from footballCredit: PA:Press Association
Guppy is an assistant coach at MLS side NashvilleCredit: Getty
But in the more than two-decade interval since, fans may have forgotten England’s left-midfielder from that game. A certain Steve Guppy.
Dubbed a “left-sided David Beckham” by Keegan ahead of his England debut, Guppy appeared destined for greatness.
Guppy, who starred for Leicester at the time, played the full duration of the match.
However, it would turn out to be his one and only international cap as England’s infamous left wing problem became synonymous with repeated failures of the so-called “golden generation”.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Fast forward to 2023, Guppy now finds himself in Nashville, TN, United States.
Though he is not over there for to simply see the sights.
Guppy, having played in the States for D.C. United and Rochester New York during the twilight of his playing career, decided to make his stay across the Atlantic long-term.
Having had assistant coaching stints at Colorado Rapids, Sunderland and Ireland, Guppy eventually found himself heading to Nashville under former Fulham academy star Gary Smith in 2020.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Now age 54, he has remained in the coaching team at the club since.
With Guppy’s help Nashville have made the Major League Soccer post-season play-offs three years running.
Guppy, a title winner with Celtic and League Cup winner with Leicester, came agonisingly close to lifting Nashville’s first piece of silverware earlier this season.
They made it all the way to the Leagues Cup final, only to lose to a Lionel Messi-inspired Inter Miami on penalties.
Despite this, Guppy appears to have fallen in love with coaching admitting he rarely looked back on his career due to being “so into coaching”.
Speaking to the Celtic View Podcast in April, Guppy said: “I look back now very rarely as I’m so into coaching.
“But on the odd occasions, I think back it’s nice to say you played for Celtic, especially out here in America because everyone knows the club.”
Guppy told SunSport last year how much he loved the “family oriented” way of life in the MLS.
Writing in an exclusive column, he said: “I remember running down the wing at DC United when I first joined the club in 2006 and I heard an unusual roar at the other end of the pitch. 
“Whenever that happened in England it tended to be that a fight had broken out in the crowd. 
“When I looked up it wasn’t a scrap but a giant teddy bear mascot catapulting sweets into the stands.
Read More on The Sun
“I chuckled to myself and thought wow this is different from my time playing in the blood and thunder of the English leagues with the likes of Wycombe, Port Vale and Leicester!
“The MLS is very family oriented which is what I love about it, and I cannot wait for the season to start.”
Guppy, dubbed ‘a left-sided David Beckham, earned just one England cap in 1999Credit: News Group Newspapers Ltd More

JACK WILSHERE has been given permission to speak to the Colorado Rapids about becoming their manager.The 31-year-old could be set to land his first managerial job after retiring last summer.
Jack Wilshere has been given permission to speak to the Colorado RapidsCredit: Getty
According to The Athletic, Arsenal have granted Wilshere permission to speak to the MLS side.
Wilshere is understood to have impressed in an interview with the Rapids but a decision on whether to appoint him has yet to be made.
The former England midfielder is keen on a senior management role if the right opportunity arises, the report adds.
Robin Fraser was sacked by the Rapids, who like Arsenal are also owned by the Kroenke Sports & Entertainment Group, in September.
READ MORE ARSENAL NEWS
Chris Little has been in charge on an interim basis since Fraser’s exit.
Wilshere returned to Arsenal in July last year after announcing his retirement aged 30.
He has since been managing the club’s under-18s side and guided the Gunners to last season’s FA Youth Cup final.
As a player, Wilshere progressed through Arsenal’s academy before making his senior debut aged 16 in 2008.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
By the time his 17-year association with the club ended in 2018, he had made 197 appearances, scoring 14 goals and winning the FA Cup twice.
Wilshere later had spells with West Ham, Bournemouth and Danish side Aarhus before hanging up his boots.
He also won 34 caps for England as a player, scoring two goals.
Wilshere has been in charge of Arsenal’s under-18s since retiring last summerCredit: Getty More

LIONEL MESSI’S Argentine team-mate Facundo Farias has claimed his wife wanted to KILL him when he revealed he was joining Inter Miami.Farias, 21, had been heavily linked with a move to Europe – with Liverpool among the clubs interested in bringing him in.
Lionel Messi and Facundo Farias both moved to Inter Miami in the summerCredit: Getty
Farias, right, with his wife Angi OliveraCredit: Instagram
But the midfielder remained at boyhood club Colon until July when he penned a three-year deal with Inter Miami.
His arrival came just one month after Messi had confirmed he was joining David Beckham’s MLS outfit.
And the Barcelona icon, 36, has gone on to contribute 11 goals and five assists in 13 games.
However, Farias’ partner, Angi Olivera, was not pleased with leaving Argentina to move to the US.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
The couple have a four-month-old son, Valentino, while Angi was also studying at the time of Farias’ transfer.
Speaking to The Athletic, he said: “She [Angi] was studying her major but we had to move here.
“She wanted to kill me! But I told her, ‘We’re going to play with Messi!'”
Farias has scored three goals and provided two assists in 12 games since joining Inter Miami.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Angi was originally not on board with leaving Argentina for the USCredit: Instagram
Farias convinced her by telling her they were moving to the same club as MessiCredit: Instagram
The couple have a four-month-old son togetherCredit: Instagram
He helped the club win the Leagues Cup, before they lost the U.S. Open Cup Final and failed to qualify for the MLS play-offs while Messi was missing with an injury.
Yet despite the team’s struggles without their new talisman, Farias insists it is a blessing playing with the greatest player of all time.
He went on to add: “You have to enjoy (Messi) as much as you can. He’s the best in the game. He proved that. So just enjoy him and learn from him whenever possible.
“It’s a unique situation to be next to him. He’s a great teammate and he’s so important to us.
“To have players like him, Sergio (Busquets), and Jordi (Alba) on your team, these are players who have had incredible careers. Everyone respects them and that’s a plus for us.
“I’m learning so much from Leo and from everyone else.”
Midfielder Farias is enjoying playing alongside MessiCredit: Instagram
Messi has been sensational since arriving at Inter MiamiCredit: AP More

SAUDI ARABIA are exploring the possibility of signing Lionel Messi on loan this winter, according to reports.The superstar signed for Inter Miami in the summer after leaving Paris Saint-Germain.
Lionel Messi could move to Saudi Arabia on loan this winterCredit: Getty
But the 2023 MLS regular season finishes later this month and the new campaign does not start until next February.
That means Messi would have four months out of action – so a loan move could be on the cards.
According to reporter Rudy Galetti, the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund are preparing a move for Messi.
The former Barcelona star previously rejected a £350million a year move to Al-Hilal, who signed his pal Neymar in the summer.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Several Saudi clubs could try to sign Messi with Galetti claiming there could be developments soon.
Barcelona are also interested in a loan move which would see Messi make an emotional return to the Spanish giants.
Sport claim that no move has been discussed with David Beckham’s outfit yet, but it is an option that Barcelona are seriously considering.
Inter Miami are five points off the play-off places in the Eastern Conference with just three games of the regular season left to go.
Most read in Football
FREE BETS – BEST BETTING OFFERS AND BONUSES NEW CUSTOMERS
Should they progress, then that could result in them going all the way to the MLS Cup Final, which takes place on December 9.
And should that scenario occur, it would scupper Barca’s hopes of luring Messi back. More