The MLS Players Association released the annualized salaries for each player in the league for the first time in 2026, and Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi remains the league’s highest-paid player for the third year in a row and earned a huge pay raise. The salaries, released Tuesday, are the first of two annual releases by the MLSPA and are current as of April 16, 2026. The average guaranteed compensation for the league’s players is $688,816. Messi signed a three-year contract extension with the Herons through the 2028 season last October, right before leading the club to its first MLS Cup title. His base salary of $25 million, including guaranteed compensation of $28.3 million, this season marks a drastic increase from the $12 million base and guaranteed compensation of $20.4 million he earned last year, per the MLS Players Association salary guide from October. While the 38-year-old Argentinian superstar’s salary makes him by far the U.S.…