Mls 2022 Top 10 Salaries: Highest Earners

After signing with Toronto FC in July, Lorenzo Insigne will allegedly earn $12.42 million annually, making him the highest-paid player in MLS history. Which players currently rank as the league’s top 10 highest-paid players of all time?

Major League Soccer (MLS) has long been seen as a retirement hangout for renowned European stars. And while that has changed a bit in the more recent years, many of the highest earners over the competition’s 26 years have been women.

Based on data compiled by Capology, this article ranks the top 10 highest-paid MLS players of all time, according to those players’ base wages.

That rules out David Beckham, who Forbes estimates made $250 million in the United States between endorsement deals and his share of the club’s earnings while he played for the LA Galaxy. Not included were other superstars like Andrea Pirlo and Sebastian Giovinco.

Who then is chosen? Now, look at this.

1. Xherdan Shaqiri – $7.35million 

The former Liverpool player Shaqiri signed a seven-year, $7.5 million contract with the Chicago Fire in February 2022 following a disappointing stint with Lyon. His annual salary will be $7.35 million, not including bonuses.

Because of the upcoming arrival of Insigne, his salary is expected to completely eclipse any previous MLS player’s salary. The Italian’s salary will exceed that of 17 of the league’s 28 clubs.

But, let’s get back to Shaqiri. Given that he hasn’t even had time to pull his socks up over his ridiculously huge calves yet, it may be too soon to judge, but his record of three goals and two assists through 12 games is encouraging.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic – $7.2million

Ibrahimovic’s stint with the LA Galaxy was pure box office, from the moment he scored a 45-yard screamer in his opening game against LAFC to the time he scored 52 more goals in 58 games and was named to two MLS All-Star XIs.

You wouldn’t think less of the huge Swede, though.

He humbly remarked, “I came, I saw, I conquered,” as he departed in 2019. The LA Galaxy is responsible for my renewed sense of vitality. I gave Zlatan to the Galaxy because they wanted him. Thank you very much.