By Daniel Cancel, Bloomberg
Lionel Messi, the Argentine soccer superstar, is paid between $70 million and $80 million a year by Inter Miami CF when including equity rights and player compensation, club owner Jorge Mas said.
Messi, 38, signed a new three-year contract at Inter Miami last year, keeping him at the most valuable Major League Soccer franchise into his 40s. The full terms of that contract weren’t made public, but he’s expected to be a partial club owner when he stops playing given the structure of the agreements since he arrived in 2023.
To help pay for one of the greatest players ever, along with his cast of older stars like Luis Suarez and Rodrigo De Paul, Mas leans heavily on sponsorship and other commercial deals, representing about 55% of the club revenue. Media rights, which are hugely important for most major sports franchises, are just 2% of revenue for Inter Miami, Mas said.
“The reason that I need to have sponsors and for them to be world class is because players are expensive,” Mas said in an interview this week. “I pay Messi — worth every penny — but it’s $70 to $80 million a year. Across everything.”
Mas didn’t elaborate on how Messi’s contract is structured or how the annual costs add up. Messi is the second-highest paid soccer player globally after Cristiano Ronaldo, who has a contract reportedly worth more than $400 million with Saudi Arabian team Al-Nassr FC.
Mas, a 63-year-old businessman from Miami, built his career and fortune at his family construction and real estate development company MasTec Inc. The publicly traded firm, which specializes in the building, installation and maintenance of utility and communications infrastructure, is worth about $23 billion.
Mas’ latest coup, unveiled this week, was signing a multiyear partnership with Brazilian fintech giant Nu Holdings Ltd. Inter Miami’s new home, opening in April, will be called Nu Stadium, and the fintech’s logo will appear on the back of the popular jerseys starting in August.
The businessman, who owns the club along with his brother Jose and UK soccer great David Beckham, said he doesn’t compete with other MLS teams necessarily off the pitch and sees clubs in the top European leagues as competitors for luring player talent.
The massive investments into Inter Miami have begun to translate into trophies. The club won its first MLS Cup last season and commemorated the title Thursday at the White House alongside President Donald Trump.
Apple initially agreed to a $2.5 billion, 10-year deal in 2022 to secure the exclusive global broadcasting rights for MLS in the US. However, this agreement was recently revised to conclude at the end of the 2028-29 season.
Mas recommends other owners focus on brand deals and sponsorships over media revenue for now.
“Use that ecosystem for your sponsors, your existing sponsors for your teams, and for your value,” Mas said. “People don’t think like that. I do. Because the valuation of my team is based on that. The media dollars don’t move it.”
The club’s valuation rose 22% in 2025 alone to $1.45 billion, making it the most valuable in MLS, according to Sportico. What happens when Messimania eventually fades away and Mas and his partners are forced to find the next great one to lure fans to the stadium and merchandise remains to be seen.
But Mas welcomes the challenge.
“I’ve disrupted major league soccer. Some criticize, some praise. I steer the boat because I do think we need to change a lot of things,” he said. “You can’t fear change. In order to thrive and succeed, you need to do things differently.”
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