Always on the list of players with the highest salary in the world, Lionel Messi’s income from football is a dream for many people.

Lionel Messi is the leading icon in world football history. The money he earns from his playing career must of course be commensurate with this position – not to mention non-football income sources. Lionel Messi’s total income (revealed through many sources) amounts to billions of dollars.

“Criticize” the 1.6 billion USD contract

In the summer of 2023, Lionel Messi caught the attention of the football world when he joined David Beckham’s Inter Miami Club in the MLS (USA) with a 2 and a half year contract. Previously, Messi refused to move to Saudi Arabia despite being offered a 3-year contract worth 1.6 billion USD by Al-Hilal Club.

Lionel Messi is always one of the highest paid players in the world. (Photo: Getty Images)

According to the American Professional League Players Association (MLSPA), the Argentine star ranks first in salary among players in 29 teams here. Messi is even the highest paid player in the history of the American professional soccer league.

Messi’s guaranteed salary at Inter Miami is 20 million USD/year. The star of the Argentine team is far ahead of other players playing in the MLS. The second person in terms of salary in this tournament is Lorenzo Insigne of Toronto Club with 15.4 million USD/year.

However, that is just the tip of the “iceberg”. In fact, Messi earned even more than that when he joined David Beckham’s team. Jorge Mas, co-owner of the team, shared with El Pais newspaper (Spain) that the former Barcelona player’s salary was increased thanks to the provision that he will own part of the club after retiring.

In addition, Messi also enjoys a portion of profits from MLS’s broadcast agreement with Apple TV and team jersey sales from Adidas. With these agreements, Messi earns about 50-60 million USD/year.

Lionel Messi turned down a $1.6 billion contract to join Inter Miami.

The Athletic newspaper reported that there are 14 players in their entire career in MLS who have earned more money than the $20 million that Messi enjoyed in his first season at Inter Miami. David Beckham’s team pays Messi more than the total salary budget of 25 MLS teams, excluding Toronto, LA Galaxy and LAFC.

In February this year, Fast Company reported statistics that Messi’s 2 and a half year contract at Inter Miami was worth 150 million USD. “Including the contract with Miami, the club’s ownership stake and strategic partnerships with Apple and Adidas, Messi’s total career income is expected to reach $1.6 billion by the end of 2025,” Fast Company writes.

Money making machine

It would not be an exaggeration to say that Lionel Messi is a “money-making machine” in the football world. The Argentine star has repeatedly made Forbes magazine’s list of the world’s highest-paid sports athletes.

Messi even tops the list in 2019 (127 million USD) and 2022 (130 million USD). In 2023, Messi (130 million USD) ranks 2nd on Forbes’ list, just behind the person playing in Saudi Arabia, Cristiano Ronaldo (136 million USD).

In 2021, Spanish newspaper El Mundo published documents stating that Messi’s four-year contract with Barcelona is worth 674 million USD (555 million euros/491 million pounds).

Lionel Messi’s earnings from football amount to billions of dollars.

Messi’s income at that time amounted to 167 million USD (112 million pounds/138 million euros) per season, based on the agreement that the player signed with the Catalan team when extending his contract in 2017. This is considered is the most expensive contract in sports history. It includes a flat salary, image royalties and a variety of bonuses.

In the summer of 2021, Messi left Barcelona to join PSG, a rich team in Ligue 1 (France). The topic of Messi’s salary here continues to attract attention. According to Sporting News, the Argentine superstar signed a contract worth 41 million USD per season with the Paris team with a contract valid until June 2023. The Athletic said Messi received a kickback of $30 million.

Forbes revealed that PSG also gave Messi a portion of the profits from his image and commercial rights. If including salary and money from image rights, Messi pockets nearly 75 million USD per year, equivalent to about 1.44 million USD a week.

In June 2023, Sportico newspaper reported that Messi, at the age of 35, had earned about 1.2 billion USD including salary, bonuses and advertising in nearly 2 decades of professional competition. The Argentine star ranks 5th among the highest-paid athletes of all time.

Currently, Messi is still a “money-making machine” even though he is on the other side of his career. Many people believe that Messi could make more money if he agreed to play football in Saudi Arabia.

However, for Messi personally at the present time, money is not his top concern. The 2022 World Cup champion probably just wants to enjoy his time playing football where he feels most comfortable.