Category: MLS Soccer

With Lionel Messi’s contract extension with Inter Miami cementing his Major League Soccer future, teams around the league are continuing to look for ways to profit from his visits.

The Seattle Sounders are seeking outside investors for the first time since the club joined MLS in 2009. The team has retained Moelis & Co. to explore a “strategic capital raise,” according to a statement shared with Sportico. More specifically, the Sounders are looking for a large minority partner that can lend capital and expertise …

Which players are in the top 20 list in terms of MLS salaries for 2025?

Nathan Ordaz scored an easy tap-in in the 79th minute to give LAFC a victory over Austin in the opener of their MLS playoff series.

• South Korean forward joined Los Angeles FC this summer

• Thomas Müller earns $1.4m annually in Vancouver

Los Angeles FC forward Son Heung-min tops Major League Soccer’s summer signings with an annual salary of $10.4m and total compensation of $11.2m, becoming the second-highest-paid player behind Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.

Son joined LAFC in August after more than a decade at Tottenham and scored nine goals in 10 regular season MLS matches.

Continue reading...

Messi remains Major League Soccer’s highest-paid player, but he has new company in the eight-figure club.

The Argentinian has been as excellent as ever in his later years, winning the Golden Boot and tying for most assists despite missing a quarter of the season, as well as setting new records for non-penalty goals and goal contributions. However, Messi's presence and performance has yet to push MLS into the US mainstream.

Continue reading...

• Inter Miami star delivered remarks in an NBC interview

• Messi reiterated his desire to play in the 2026 World Cup

Lionel Messi said that MLS must loosen its spending restrictions in order to become a top league in the world of soccer and said that he is hopeful that he will be physically able to contribute to Argentina at next summer’s World Cup.

In a rare interview with an American outlet, Messi sat down with NBC Nightly News anchor Tom Llamas at Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. In the interview, Messi was asked if he felt that soccer could become as popular in the US as American sports like football, baseball, and basketball. Messi said he thinks the sport could get there, but that teams need to have more freedom first.

Continue reading...

• Cincinnati and Minnesota go up 1-0 in best-of-three series

• Columbus and Seattle to host Game 2s

Kévin Denkey’s goal in the 78th minute was enough for hosts FC Cincinnati to claim a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew in the opener of their Eastern Conference opening-round series on Monday.

Match 2 is Sunday in Columbus. A deciding match, if needed, will be on 8 November in Cincinnati.

Continue reading...

Five different leagues have 17 total games scheduled to begin over the span of four hours.

The Borgen family, investors in the NWSL’s Denver Summit expansion team, are part of the group that recently invested in Austin FC at an enterprise value of $912 million. FirstTracks Sports Ventures, which is managed by Jon-Erik Borgen, closed its investment earlier this month. The group is part of the series of transactions mostly announced …

Christian Polanco and Alexis Guerreros bring on MLS 360 host Kevin Egan to discuss Lionel Messi’s new deal with Inter Miami and what it means for the future of Major League Soccer. They also preview the MLS Playoffs and share their predictions. Later, the guys react to another Champions League matchday and a hilarious moment from NBC’s Premier League coverage.

The 2025 MLS playoffs will run until the Cup Final on Dec. 6. Here's everything to know, from the matchups, how to watch and more.

Lionel Messi has signed a contract extension with Inter Miami, the MLS club announced Thursday. It is a three-year agreement through the 2028 season. No financial details were released. Messi, who turned 38 in June, originally joined Inter Miami in 2023 under a two-and-a-half-year contract worth $150 million, or $60 million per year, including a …

• Messi won MLS MVP in 2024, is favored to repeat

• Deal will keep him in Miami for new stadium opening

Lionel Messi has signed a multi-year contract extension with Inter Miami, sealing a deal that will keep him in South Florida until the end of the 2028 season and is expected to be the last contract of his professional career.

Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed in Miami’s announcement on Thursday, but Messi has been MLS’s highest-paid player by a distance since joining Inter Miami in the summer of 2023. His first deal paid him over $20m per year in guaranteed compensation – more the total payroll of about two-thirds of the 30-team league in 2025. His deal also includes equity in the club upon his retirement as a player.

Continue reading...