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Hello! No prizes for guessing Major League Soccer’s top earner. But riddle me this: how are Philadelphia Union doing it?
On the way:
Messi’s $20m wage: He earns more than 20 other franchises pay their full squads
I’m fascinated by the thought of how club football in the United States will look in 10 years. It’s a rapidly evolving landscape, with no inclination to stand still.
Lionel Messi, for instance, would like MLS to get in line with the wider footballing world by reducing limitations on transfer expenditure and wages — slightly ironic because, in a manner of speaking, those limitations can be circumvented already.
Yesterday, the latest salary figures for the 2025 MLS season were released, and guess what? Messi’s earnings are way out in front of any other player in the States, funded by a team — Inter Miami — whose wage bill dwarfs the opposition too. You’ll find in-depth analysis of the rankings here but I wanted to highlight certain details that caught the eye:
Miami pay Messi (below) more in guaranteed income ($20.45million or roughly £15.5m) than 20 franchises pay their entire rosters, full stop. The total outlay at Miami ($48.97m) is streets ahead of the smallest budget, $12.92m at CF Montreal. It’s a staggering $19m higher than LAFC in second.
For the first time, the data reveals the cost of LAFC signing Son Heung-min and Vancouver Whitecaps signing Thomas Muller. Son’s salary is $11.5m, making him MLS’ second-highest earner behind Messi. Muller receives $1.44m but will rake in more when he becomes a designated player in 2026.
Philadelphia Union winning the Supporters’ Shield is mightily impressive. They pride themselves on punching above their weight, and they’ve done it with salary costs of $13.34m, the third-lowest in the league. Vancouver have been a revelation too, on a $17.32m budget.
Atlanta United’s underperformance looks horrible. They’re third-highest in the overall salary stakes. They earned 28 points from 34 games. No wonder Ronny Deila was fired as head coach.
Two conclusions stemming from the headline stats are contradictory. MLS’ policies give Miami a clear financial advantage by exempting elite names Messi, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba from the salary cap. But at the same time, Philly can make their presence felt at a fraction of the cost. In that sense, the model isn’t broken.
Is change afoot?
Messi’s voice carries too much weight to ignore, so when he speaks on transfer and salary rules, MLS can’t just sweep his comments under the carpet. The concept of inter-league parity is virtuous in theory but it’s out of step with the global game as a whole and, as the wage bills show, it’s hard to deliver perfectly in practice.
Soccer in the U.S. could soon experience considerable change. The United Soccer League (USL) has committed to introducing promotion and relegation, a big break from tradition. MLS isn’t going down that route but it is contemplating a switch to autumn-spring season dates, aligning with European leagues and European transfer windows. Franchise values are soaring fast, inviting more investment.
Messi has seen the world and he knows how football looks elsewhere. He’s probably right when he suggests MLS would help itself by loosening the purse strings. But there’s something to be said for championing an environment in which Philly, from such a standing start, can keep up with and outrun the richest kids on the block. Unpredictability is easily lost.
News round-up
Yesterday, Real Madrid winger Vinicius Junior apologised for storming down the tunnel after being substituted in the second half of Sunday’s Clasico win against Barcelona. Nowhere in his statement was head coach Xabi Alonso mentioned. This, we’re told, was no accidental oversight. Politics, politics…
Madrid, meanwhile, intend to pursue “substantial damages” from Europe’s governing body, UEFA, over the failed attempt to create a Super League in 2023. The club’s comments follow a court hearing in Spain, which upheld a ruling that UEFA was breaching European Union rules on free competition.
The vacant head coach’s job at Juventus looks like it’s going to former Italy boss Luciano Spalletti. He’s expected to sign up to the end of the season, with an extension on offer if Juve make the Champions League.
Broadcasters in England have long been prevented from televising matches at 3pm on a Saturday, an arrangement known as the ‘blackout’. In theory, it helps smaller clubs maximise attendances. Unusually, the Premier League has received rare permission to show live fixtures on two Saturdays after Christmas — but it’s choosing not to. Adam Leventhal explains why.
Up for the cup: Liverpool out, 15-year-old makes history on dramatic night
The Carabao Cup is England’s lesser knockout competition — so much so that any time a debate takes place about reducing fixture congestion, it’s invariably the tournament people talk about sacrificing.
All I’m saying is that if that happened, we’d lose the raft of headlines we get from a night like last night. The completion of the fourth round (giving us the line-up for the quarter-finals) was quite the drama, throwing up several points of interest:
Liverpool are out after Arne Slot’s 10 changes backfired in a 3-0 defeat to Crystal Palace. Slot really has lost his touch. Here’s a funny stat: Liverpool’s 18-year-old defender Amara Nallo was sent off and now has a record of two senior appearances, two red cards. His first-team minutes total? 16. Incredible.
Chelsea striker Liam Delap was dismissed, too, on his first appearance since suffering a hamstring injury two months ago. He picked up two yellows in seven minutes during a 4-3 win at Wolverhampton Wanderers and got it in the ear from Enzo Maresca. “It’s embarrassing,” said the Chelsea boss, who accused Delap of “playing for himself”.
Some good, old-fashioned controversy broke out at Newcastle United, where Tottenham Hotspur conceded from a corner taken while defender Djed Spence was out of position. He’d been tying his bootlace…
Max Dowman became Arsenal’s youngest-ever starter, aged 15 years and 302 days. That broke a record set last year. The midfielder turned in a lively performance, too, helping craft a 2-0 victory against Brighton. A first Premier League start can’t be far behind.
Oh, and before we move on, a word for Goncalo Franco’s finish for Swansea City against Manchester City, which you’ll see at the start of this section. It didn’t prevent Swansea City’s elimination but it’s about as top bins as top bins gets. A tip of the hat to you, sir.
Throwing it forward: Should the Premier League limit time-consuming set pieces?
On more than one occasion, TAFC has touched on the rising popularity of attacking throw-ins in the Premier League. Last season, long throws into the opposition box arrived at a rate of 1.52 per game. This season, that average is up to 3.85.
What I hadn’t picked up on, and what Nick Miller noticed, was the sheer amount of time being lost to these set pieces. It stands to reason when you think about it. Long throws take longer to organise and execute. As a consequence, they eat away at the ticking clock.
But the extent to which that happens might surprise you. In Brentford’s 3-2 win against Liverpool on Saturday, nine minutes and 24 seconds were used up by the home side taking throw-ins. That’s not even Brentford’s record for 2025-26 either. When they lost against Manchester City this month, the figure ran closer to 11 minutes.
By any measure, it’s a sizeable chunk of a 90-minute match, and it’s not as if Brentford are an isolated case. Nick is wondering if something needs to be done to reduce the delays (setting a maximum time for throws, for example, because no actual rules are being broken). Here in the United Kingdom, we’re often guilty of belittling the stop-start nature of certain sports, including American football. Perhaps we should refrain from throwing stones.
Around TAFC
Philipp Lahm was such a clever footballer that I assumed a high-level coaching career was a given. On the contrary, he’s happy volunteering as assistant to an under-14 squad (including his son) at an amateur club in Munich. Seb Stafford-Bloor went along to join Lahm on the touchline.
In his pomp, Tony Adams was Arsenal captain and a hard-as-nails centre-back. He was also an alcoholic and since retiring, he’s devoted himself to helping others who suffer from addiction. Oli Kay’s interview with him today is brilliant, and searingly honest.
Tifo Football are so good at asking the questions that matter: for example, when do footballers take a day off? Find out on YouTube.
Sunderland are proving to be the Premier League’s surprise package. It was only right that we gave them some love on The Athletic FC Podcast.
Most clicked in Wednesday’s TAFC: the assault on a non-League player in Liverpool.
Catch a match
(Selected games, kick-offs ET/UK time)
Serie A: Cagliari vs Sassuolo, 1.30pm/5.30pm; Pisa vs Lazio, 3.45pm/7.45pm — both CBS, Paramount+, Amazon Prime, DAZN/DAZN. Pisa vs Lazio also Fubo (U.S only).
Copa del Rey, first round: Palma del Rio vs Real Betis, 4pm/8pm — ESPN+ (U.S. only).
And finally…
(Video courtesy of @mattmxlsh85/X)
The Athletic’s Michael Cox credited Manchester United legend Peter Schmeichel with inspiring the routine of goalkeepers joining the attack in search of last-gasp winners or equalisers.
The trend is here to stay, and England’s North West Counties Premier Division (tier nine) enjoyed a classic of the genre this week when Charnock Richard’s Ryan Hamer nicked a point against St Helens, above. His volley gets better every time you watch it.
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