Son will become the most expensive MLS player
Reading Time: 2min | Tue. 05.08.25. | 21:40
But the biggest wage still belongs to Lionel Messi
Heung-Min Son has decided he's had enough of the Premier League and realized that, at 33 years old, it's time to give his body a bit of rest and fatten his bank account. And while at first glance someone might say that MLS doesn't pay nearly as much as European leagues, there are numerous examples proving just how good Americans are at making money through marketing and other business ventures. And since there's a large South Korean diaspora in California, there's no doubt that Los Angeles FC will know how to capitalize on that.
That's why Los Angeles will make Son by far the most expensive player in MLS history. Not in terms of salary, but in terms of transfer fee, since—according to the BBC—Tottenham will receive 22.4 million euros in compensation. By European standards, that’s a modest sum, especially for a player of his caliber—even at his age—but Americans always pay just enough to ensure they can turn a profit. Even the list of previous big-money deals doesn’t really compare to the European market. Until Son, the most expensive transfer in MLS history was Emmanuel Latte Lath’s move from Middlesbrough to Atlanta United in February of this year for 21.2 million. It's worth noting: Latte Lath was the first player to break the 20 million mark.
Far behind him are Kevin Denkey, who moved from Cercle Brugge to Cincinnati for 15.3 million euros, and Gonzalo Martínez’s transfer from River Plate to Atlanta for 14.5 million back in 2019. The only other transfer over 10 million was Ezequiel Barco’s move from Independiente—again to Atlanta—for 12.28 million. Still, Son won't be the highest-paid player in MLS. That honor belongs to Lionel Messi, who earns a fixed salary of 12 million dollars at Inter Miami, but with additional marketing deals reaches a total of 20.4 million. The Korean star is, however, expected to earn more than Sergio Busquets, who currently ranks second with 8.7 million per year. It’s worth noting that salary figures released in the U.S. are gross (before taxes), so a significant portion of those sums goes to taxes.
