Son Heung-min to earn second-highest salary in MLS this season at $11 million
Published: 13 May. 2026, 12:11
Updated: 13 May. 2026, 12:52
Son Heung-Min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) acknowledges fans after the MLS match between LAFC and Houston Dynamo FC at BMO Stadium in California on May 10. [GETTY IMAGES/YONHAP]
Footballer Son Heung-min of Los Angeles FC (LAFC) is set to earn a guaranteed salary of about $11 million this season, the second highest in the MLS but less than half of the highest, Lionel Messi’s salary, according to the
salary guide
posted on the MLS Players Association on Tuesday.
Son will receive $11,152,852 as guaranteed compensation — ranked second among all MLS players in the guide. The MLS Players Association represents footballers in the MLS.
A guaranteed salary comprises the player’s annual base salary, all signing and guaranteed bonuses and agent fees divided by the number of years covered by their contract. Son’s base salary is $10,368,750.
However, guaranteed compensation excludes performance-based incentives and income from separate agreements with the club or sponsors, meaning Son’s actual earnings could be significantly higher.
Son joined LAFC in August 2025 after leaving Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League. The MLS club paid a transfer fee worth up to $26.5 million, one of the largest in league history.
Now in his second MLS season, Son has the second-highest salary in the league.
Messi of Miami CF, the Argentine football superstar, once again topped the MLS Players Association’s list, with his guaranteed compensation tallied at $28,333,333 — roughly two and a half times more than Son.
Messi’s contract with the U.S. club runs through 2028, as he extended it in October of last year.
The third-highest earner was Rodrigo De Paul of Inter Miami, whose guaranteed compensation was set at $9,688,320.
This article was originally written in Korean and translated by a bilingual reporter with the help of generative AI tools. It was then edited by a native English-speaking editor. All AI-assisted translations are reviewed and refined by our newsroom.
BY HAN YOUNG-HYE [
[email protected]
]
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