(US soccer) Kaka is cash king with US$7m pay packet
Sports | 20 May 2016 8:01 pm
Kaka remains US Major League Soccer's highest-paid player at just over US$7 million, and American goalkeeper Tim Howard will earn slightly more than US$2.5 million in his return to the league.
Kaka, the former AC Milan and Real Madrid star, is earning a base salary of US$6.6 million from Orlando City, according to figures released Thursday by the MLS Players Union. Including a prorated share of compensation not specified to a specific year, his total earnings remain a league-record US$7.16 million.
Toronto's Sebastian Giovinco, the league's 2015 MVP, has a US$5.6 million base and total compensation of US$7.11 million. U.S. national team captain Michael Bradley, in his third season with Toronto, has a US$6 million base and US$6.5 million total earnings.
Howard, the U.S. starting goalkeeper at the past two World Cups, is joining Colorado next month after a decade at Everton. He has a US$2.1 million base and US$2.57 million in total compensation.
Steven Gerrard, the former Liverpool and England captain now with the Los Angeles Galaxy, has a US$6 million base salary and US$6.13 million in total earnings.
Former Chelsea and Manchester City midfielder Frank Lampard, who has yet to play a match for New York City this season, has a US$6 million salary. He is followed by teammates Andrea Pirlo (US$5.6 million, US$5.91 million) and David Villa (US$5.61 million).
Twenty-three players have total earnings of US$1 million or more, an increase of two from last year's initial salary list.
Toronto's Jozy Altidore was at US$4.82 million, followed by Seattle's Clint Dempsey (US$4.6 million), Los Angeles' Giovani Dos Santos (US$4.25 million) and Robbie Keane (US$3.5 million), Montreal's Didier Drogba (US$2.16 million), Colorado's Shkelzen Gashi (US$1.66 million), Salt Lake's Juan Manuel Martinez (US$1.45 million), Seattle's Nelson Valdez (US$1.45 million), San Jose's Innocent Emeghara (US$1.3 million), Vancouver's Pedro Morales (US$1.25 million), Portland's Liam Ridgewell (US$1.25 million), Columbus' Federico Higuain (US$1.17 million), Chicago's Gilberto (US$1.14 million), Colorado's Kevin Doyle (US$1.12 million) and New England's Kei Kamara (US$1 million).—AP
