Staggering MLS marquee salaries revealed
Lorenzo Insigne was revealed as the clear top earner in Major League Soccer as the players' association published its list of annual salaries.
Italy striker Insigne joined Toronto FC from Napoli at the end of the 2021-2022 Serie A season, signing a four-year contract.
It can now be revealed that Insigne will earn $14million in his first season, putting him far ahead of the next highest paid player in MLS, who is Chicago Fire's former Liverpool and Bayern Munich player Xherdan Shaqiri.
Shaqiri earns a base salary of $7.35m, but his guaranteed compensation comes to $8.153m. The 31-year-old joined Chicago from Lyon in February.
The MLS Players' Association (MLSPA) published its list that included a number of surprising salaries, with former Juventus and Italy captain Giorgio Chiellini collecting a modest – compared to Insigne – base salary of $1million with Los Angeles FC, which only climbs marginally to $1.075m when all guaranteed compensation is included.
Chiellini was therefore absent from the list of top 25 earners in MLS, and his club-mate Gareth Bale only squeezed into the list at number 23, with the former Real Madrid and Tottenham forward on a base salary of $1.6m and a total amount of $2.387m.
In third place on the list stands Javier Hernandez, the former Manchester United and Real Madrid striker, with the LA Galaxy star reeling in $6m base and $7.443m guaranteed.
Insigne's countryman and Toronto team-mate Federico Bernardeschi is fourth (basic: $3.125m; guaranteed: $6.256m), ahead of a former Juventus team-mate, LA Galaxy's Douglas Costa in fifth (basic: $3m; guaranteed: $5.8m).
Christian Benteke, who left Crystal Palace to join DC United in August, holds down 11th place with a base salary of $4m ($4.183m guaranteed).
