Kaka tops MLS salaries list

LOS ANGELES: Former Brazil star Kaka topped the list of Major League Soccer’s highest- paid players for a third straight year, according to official figures released on Tuesday.

A comprehensive breakdown of basic salary and guaranteed earnings issued by the MLS Players Union showed Orlando’s Kaka coming out on top with wages of US$ 7.168 mil lion ( 6.553 million euros).

The 35-year- old 2007 FIFA World Player of the Year headed to MLS in 2014 after a second stint with AC Milan.

The top 10 highest- earners in MLS are dominated by foreign players, with Toronto’s Italian international Sebastian Giovinco second on the list with a salary of US$ 7.116 million.

Giovinco’s Toronto teammate, United States skipper Michael Bradley, is third with a salary of US$ 6.5 million.

New York City FC’s duo of Andrea Pirlo and David Villa were fourth and fifth on the list, earning US$ 5.915 million and US$ 5.61 million respectively.

Chicago Fire’s recent ly arrived former Bayern Munich and Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger was seventh with a guaranteed US$ 5.4 million.

US internationals Jozy Altidore ( US$ 4.875 million) and Clint Dempsey ( US$ 3.892 mil lion) were eighth and ninth on the list.

Argentinian midfielder Diego Valeri of the Portland Timbers rounded out the top 10 with a salary of US$ 2.607 million. At the other end of the scale, several players in MLS earn the minimum wage of US$ 53,004 a year. — AFP