Major League Soccer Player Association (MLSPA) publish their annual Salary report during spring. We are used to such transparency in North America but is pretty unusual in other soccer leagues. Even in the best world soccer leagues like Premier League, La Liga or Seria A we just guess the payrolls of players.
Top Ten Best-Paid Players in MLS
It would be surprising to see another name at the top of the salary ranking in MLS. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is the man who can attract attention worldwide and it is no surprise he gets the highest compensation. The second place belongs to Michael Bradley and third to Jozy Altidore, both from Toronto FC. The Canadian club has three players in top10 and is the only club that has more than one player in top10.
Top Ten Best-Paid Players in MLS as of 1st June 2019
| Rank | Name | Club | Base Salary [in USD] | Total Compensation (Base Salary + Signing Bonus) (Performance Bonuses not included) [in USD] |
| 1. | Zlatan Ibrahimovic | LA Galaxy | 7 200 000 | 7 200 000 |
| 2. | Michael Bradley | Toronto FC | 6 000 000 | 6 500 000 |
| 3. | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC | 4 891 250 | 6 332 250 |
| 4. | Carlos Vela | LAFC | 4 500 000 | 6 300 000 |
| 5. | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Chicago Fire | 5 600 000 | 5 600 000 |
| 6. | Ignacio Piatti | Montreal Impact | 530 000 | 4 443 333 |
| 7. | Alejandro Pozuelo Melero | Toronto FC | 3 800 000 | 3 800 000 |
| 8. | Wayne Rooney | DC United | 3 500 000 | 3 507 500 |
| 9. | Josef Martinez | Atlanta United | 3 000 000 | 3 058 333 |
| 10. | Nicolas Lodeiro | Seattle Sounders FC | 2 000 000 | 2 502 500 |
Source: Salary Guide of MLSPA
Top Ten Best-Paid Players in MLS as of 1st May 2018
The current report brings interesting numbers again. Looking at the 10 best-paid players we see three players from Toronto FC. Other seven players are from seven different teams. It looks that money spent in Canada brought the wished goal and Toronto FC won the MLS last year.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic payroll is more surprising. He is 26th best-paid player overall and 4th best in LA Galaxy. I hope his performance bonuses and marketing contracts will balance it as his presence in California gives soccer a big boost nationally.
| Rank | Name | Club | Base Salary | Total Compensation (Base Salary + Signing Bonus) (Performance Bonuses not included) |
| 1. | Sebastian Govinco | Toronto FC | 5 600 000 | 7 115 555.67 |
| 2. | Michael Bradley | Toronto FC | 5 600 000 | 6 500 000 |
| 3. | Carlos Vela | LAFC | 4 500 000 | 6 292 500 |
| 4. | Bastian Schweinsteiger | Chicago Fire | 6 100 000.08 | 6 100 000.08 |
| 5. | Giovani dos Santos | LA Galaxy | 4 250 000 | 6 000 000 |
| 6. | David Villa | New York FC | 5 610 000 | 5 610 000 |
| 7. | Jozy Altidore | Toronto FC | 5 000 000 | 5 000 000 |
| 8. | Ignacio Piatti | Montreal Impact | 500 000.04 | 4 713 333.37 |
| 9. | Tim Howard | Colorado Rapids | 2 000 000 | 2 475 000 |
| 10. | Diego Valeri | Portland Timbers | 2 320 000 | 2 380 000 |
Source: Salary Guide of MLSPA