Lionel Messi more than doubled his salary to $25m (£18.5m) in his new contract with Inter Miami and earns more more than twice as much as the second-highest-paid player in Major League Soccer, Los Angeles FC‘s Son Heung Min.

Messi’s new contract includes $25m in base salary and more than $28m in guaranteed compensation, the MLS Players’ Association said in its first release of 2026 salaries. The eight-time Ballon d’Or winner earns more than the payrolls of 28 of the other 29 MLS teams.

Miami’s $54.6m (£40.4m) is more than $20m (£14.8m) higher than LAFC, which is second at $32.7m (£24.2m), and nearly five times as much as Philadelphia’s league-low $11.7m (£8.65m). Miami’s payroll is up from $46.8m (£34.6m) at the start of last season.

Total league compensation was $631m (£467m) and the average guaranteed compensation of $688,816 on 16 April was up nearly nine percent from the start of October.

Messi signed a new three-year contract through the 2028 season in October before leading Inter Miami to its first MLS title.

The Argentina captain has 59 goals in 64 regular-season games with Miami, including nine in 11 matches this season. He topped the MLS scoring charts with 29 goals last season and won his second straight MVP award.

His salary figures are for his MLS contract and include any marketing bonus and agents fees but do not account for any additional agreements with the team or its affiliates, or for any performance bonuses.

Son is second at $10,368,750 (£7.7m) in base salary and $11.2m (£8.3m) in total compensation, the same as his figures last season. The 33-year-old winger joined LA from Tottenham last August.

Among the other highest earners in the league after former Newcastle creator Miguel Almiron ($7.9m; £5.84m) and Vancouver Whitecaps’ Thomas Muller, who earned $5.15m (£3.81m) after leaving Bayern Munich last summer.

Cincinnati centre-back Miles Robinson ($3.95m; £2.92m) was the top earner among likely inclusions in Mauricio Pochettino’s United States squad for the 2026 World Cup.

Coco Gauff recently gave her fans an off-court moment as she reacted to her childhood friend Jamilah Nicole (Snells) creating a buzz on social media donning an orange bikini.

On Wednesday, Jamilah shared some snippets of her pool day in Florida, where she was soaking up the sun in an orange two-piece. She also took the moment to show off her nail extensions that captured the breezy tropical vibe in bright colours. Snells further accented her look by accessorizing her fingers with blingy golden rings that grabbed the World No. 4’s attention.

“Summer nails 🌞✨🌊🐬🪷By:Me” – Jamilah Snells captioned her IG post.

“so aesthetic 😍” – Coco Gauff reacted to the post.

Coco Gauff and Snells have been friends since they were kids. The two met in a tennis academy in Florida and have been best buddies ever since. Despite having a busy tennis schedule, the 2x Grand Slam winner always takes time out to spend time with Jamilah.

Jamilah is currently a sophomore at the University of Louisville. She is a professional tennis player from the USA and competes on both ITF and WTA circuits. She currently holds a WTA ranking of 515 in women’s doubles.

Coco Gauff eyes becoming second American after Serena Williams to reach multiple finals in Rome

Gauff has now reached the semi-finals of the Italian Open for the fourth time after a magnificent 6, 6-2, 6-4 win over Mirra Andreeva on Tuesday. After dropping the first set, Gauff secured a 5-1 lead in the final set. Andreeva had five chances to outmatch Gauff before the American bagged the win in the fifth match point. In a candid post-game interview, the 2025 US Open champ spoke about her comeback win over the World No. 7.

“I know when I play her (Mirra Andreeva) she can play great tennis at any moment… I was just trying to appreciate just being here even if those match points weren’t going my way” – Coco Gauff opened up after a comeback QF win.

“I was trying to find the balance of being aggressive and just not missing” – Gauff added.

The 2x Grand Slam champion bids to be the second woman of this century to reach multiple finals at the Italian Open after the 4x Olympic gold medalist Serena Williams. The 22-year-old will next face World No. 27 Sorana Cirstea at the semi-finals on Thursday.