Jose Sanchez
Research expert covering society, economy, & politics for Latin America
Major League Soccer (MLS) - statistics & facts
Kicking off in 1996, Major League Soccer has excited sports fans in the United States and Canada for nearly 30 years. Today, MLS is big business, with the most valuable MLS teams being worth over one billion U.S. dollars. While perhaps lacking the prestige of Europe’s Big Five soccer leagues, many superstars have played in MLS, from Beckham, to Bale, and now Lionel Messi. However, the record Ballon d’Or winner will have to wait until at least 2025 to get his hands on the MLS Cup following Inter Miami’s first-round exit from the 2024 Playoffs. The team that went on to lift the trophy that year, the LA Galaxy, has won six MLS Cup titles in total - more than any other team.
How much do MLS players earn?
MLS players are represented by the MLS Players Association, which releases detailed salary information each year. As of 2024, the lowest earners could expect at least 71,401 U.S. dollars per year, whereas the highest-earning MLS player, unsurprisingly Lionel Messi, earned over 20 million U.S. dollars per year including bonuses. After Inter Miami, the MLS team with the highest average annual salary was Toronto FC, at over 1.1 million U.S. dollars. Counting Italian forward Lorenzo Insigne among its ranks, Toronto also ranked second in terms of MLS clubs’ overall payroll.What impact has Lionel Messi had on Major League Soccer?
Messi’s impact was immediate, with Inter Miami’s social media following exploding following news of his arrival in June 2023. While big names have played for MLS teams in the past, Messi’s signing was on a different scale, with the Argentinian considered by many to be the greatest player of all time. In 2024, the average attendance of MLS games grew to over 23,000, representing the highest figure in over a decade, and despite having only been founded in 2018, Inter Miami ranked among the MLS clubs with the highest revenues, behind only Los Angeles FC. Nevertheless, the league is bigger than just one player, and the challenge for MLS in the future will be to retain interest once Messi hangs up his boots.
