New York Red Bulls forward Thierry Henry has replaced David Beckham of the Los Angeles Galaxy as the highest paid soccer player in the MLS.
According to the salary list released by the MLS Players Union, Henry has a base salary of $5 million and total compensation of $5.6 million while David Beckham has a base salary of $3 million with a guaranteed compensation of $4 million. Beckham signed a new contract in January to stay with the Galaxy, but his salary has dropped nearly 40%.
The former Manchester United's previous base salary was $5.5 million with a guaranteed pay of $6.5 million as part of a $32.5 million five-year contract.
However, now Beckham has been replaced by Arsenal legend Henry, with Henry's Red Bull teammate Rafael Marquez the second highest player at $4.6 million. Beckham is third followed by Galaxy teammates Robbie Keane ($3.4 million) and Landon Donovan ($2.4 million).
Bottom teams in either conferences Toronto FC and LA Galaxy lead the league in million-dollar-plus salaries. Toronto have German Torsten Frings ($2.4 million), Canadian Julian De Guzman ($1.9 million) and Dutchman Danny Koevermans ($1.5 million). The three players make up for one-third of the league million-dollar-plus earners. While LA have Beckham, Keane and Donovan as their high earners.