Messi is making more MLS money than entire Vancouver Whitecaps team
The arrival of Lionel Messi to North America has completely changed the MLS.
The Argentinian superstar has brought a ton of new eyeballs to the league, and he’s being paid handsomely to do so. The latest MLS salary report shows that Messi is getting a total guaranteed compensation of $20.47 million.
That’s more than all but four teams, one being Messi’s own Inter Miami.
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When the money is compared to the Vancouver Whitecaps, it’s not even close. The Whitecaps’ total payroll is $13.6 million. That is just barely more than half of Messi’s total guaranteed compensation.
The second-highest-paid player in the MLS is Toronto FC’s Lorenzo Insigne. The Italian star has a total guaranteed compensation of $15.4 million. He is also making more than all of the Whitecaps combined.
Here is the complete list of all the payrolls for the different MLS teams as per the last MLS salary report.
| Team | Guaranteed compensation |
| Inter Miami | $39,419,071 |
| Toronto FC | $31,672,886 |
| LA Galaxy | $25,038,692 |
| LAFC | $20,841,863 |
| Leo Messi | $20,446,667 |
| Chicago Fire | $20,415,828 |
| Atlanta | $19,847,184 |
| Seattle Sounders | $19,185,352 |
| Austin | $19,038,551 |
| Houston Dynamo | $17,459,127 |
| DC United | $17,302,163 |
| New England Revolution | $17,013,587 |
| Nashville SC | $16,990,388 |
| Portland Timbers | $16,215,874 |
| Columbus Crew | $15,313,747 |
| Sporting KC | $14,979,335 |
| New York City FC | $14,965,285 |
| FC Dallas | $14,711,587 |
| San Jose Earthquakes | $14,600,008 |
| Minnesota United | $14,569,690 |
| Colorado Rapids | $14,496,437 |
| FC Cincinnati | $14,348,728 |
| Real Salt Lake | $14,285,938 |
| Charlotte FC | $13,889,425 |
| Vancouver Whitecaps | $13,626,865 |
| Philadelphia Union | $13,419,282 |
| New York Red Bulls | $11,331,027 |
| St Louis FC | $11,186,787 |
| CF Montreal | $10,920,537 |
| Orlando City FC | $9,642,918 |
Taking a look at the salary breakdown for the Whitecaps, it’s Ryan Gauld who is making the most money to no one’s surprise. While he is sometimes called “the Scottish Messi,” he resembles the Argentinian forward more on the pitch than he does financially as he’s getting about 1/10th of the salary.
The salaries on the Whitecaps range from $67,000 to $2.5 million.
Here is the full breakdown of how much every Whitecaps player is being paid this season.
| Name | Position | Base salary | Guaranteed compensation |
| Ryan Gauld | M-F | $2,400,000 | $2,505,000 |
| Richie Laryea | D | $1,436,338 | $1,436,338 |
| Andrés Cubas | D-M | $1,050,000 | $1,146,375 |
| Alessandro Schöpf | M-F | $900,000 | $992,500 |
| MathĂas Laborda | D | $760,000 | $903,625 |
| Sam Adekugbe | D | $729,516 | $817,516 |
| Pedro Vite | M-F | $592,000 | $645,997 |
| Ranko Veselinovic | D | $495,000 | $580,500 |
| Caio Alexandre Souza e Silva | M | $500,000 | $562,500 |
| Brian White | F | $511,000 | $511,000 |
| Tristan Blackmon | D | $400,000 | $451,208 |
| Russell Teibert | D-M | $400,000 | $449,375 |
| DĂ©iber Caicedo | M | $350,000 | $381,125 |
| LuĂs Martins | D | $300,000 | $300,000 |
| Yohei Takaoka | GK | $179,520 | $297,233 |
| Junior Hoilett | M | $228,000 | $228,000 |
| Thomas Hasal | GK | $203,000 | $222,412 |
| Sebastian Berhalter | M | $150,000 | $160,250 |
| Javain Brown | D | $140,000 | $153,688 |
| Ryan Raposo | M | $120,000 | $137,000 |
| Kamron Habibullah | M | $85,444 | $95,044 |
| Ali Ahmed | M | $85,444 | $94,819 |
| Matteo Campagna | D | $85,444 | $94,456 |
| Karifa Yao | D | $89,716 | $94,123 |
| J.C. Ngando | D-M | $67,360 | $85,359 |
| Max Anchor | GK | $67,360 | $74,802 |
| Simon Becher | F | $67,360 | $70,485 |
| Isaac Boehmer | GK | $68,775 | $68,775 |
| Levonte Johnson | M | $67,360 | $67,360 |