Highest paid players
Why Inter Miami’s roster rules make signing Casemiro a near-impossible task
Inter Miami lack roster space and allocation funds to absorb Casemiro’s reported $20m annual salary.
As Casemiro approaches the end of his Manchester United contract, interest from Major League Soccer clubs has been widely reported. Inter Miami are often mentioned among suitors, but the club’s roster and salary mechanisms create a major barrier to signing the Brazilian midfielder.
Reports suggest Casemiro earns $20 million per season at Old Trafford. Inter Miami already have three designated players locked through the 2027–28 season: Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and Germán Berterame. The club also has three players signed under the U-22 Initiative, the maximum permitted when a team carries three senior designated players. To add Berterame, Miami loaned a fourth U-22 Initiative player, Tomás Avilés, to CF Montréal.
Fabrizio Romano says the club are “really serious” about signing the Man Utd star, but the mechanics are complex. Miami could convert to two designated player slots to free a U-22 Initiative spot, yet that would allow only a younger signing, not a veteran aged 34 like Casemiro. A move would therefore likely require either replacing a current star or a deep roster rework.
Allocation tools also limit Miami’s options. Targeted Allocation Money is used to reduce a salary cap hit for players earning between $803,125 and $1,803,125, but Casemiro’s reported wages sit well above that range. General Allocation Money, which can buy down salaries under $803,125, is minimal for Miami; the club is reported to have only $17,361 in GAM. By comparison, the Colorado Rapids hold $6,380,121 for 2026, while Miami’s 2025 MLS Cup opponent, Vancouver Whitecaps, sit with $20,945.
Without selling or trading significant assets or shedding a designated player, the only practical way for Casemiro to join Inter Miami would be on a salary below $803,125. With the league team salary near the reported maximum of $6,425,000, adding another high-earner looks highly unlikely unless Miami undertakes a major roster upheaval.
Highest paid players
Spurs’ summer outlay tops $300m as Tonali poised to become record addition
Spurs have spent over $300m this summer; Tonali set to arrive for a reported £100m fee. This window.
Tottenham’s summer recruitment has passed the $300 million mark as the club moves to complete a second major signing in quick succession. A day after it emerged that Mateus Fernandes would become the club’s most expensive arrival, Sandro Tonali is reported to be joining for a larger fee, with outlets citing a £100 million ($132.8 million) agreement reached on Wednesday.
There had been slightly strange Arsenal rumors in January, and Manchester United and Manchester City were linked more recently. Those links have given way to Spurs as the destination for Tonali, amid multiple reports of common ground between the clubs on a £100 million deal.
Tottenham earlier guaranteed the full £85 million ($112.8 million) fee payable to West Ham for Fernandes, a commitment Manchester United were not prepared to make. Sky Sports and The Athletic note that Newcastle are assured of £92.5 million ($122.8 million) for Tonali, with the remaining £7.5 million ($9.9 million) structured as achievable add-ons.
The spending spree follows two consecutive seasons in which Spurs finished 17th in the Premier League and a campaign in which the club were in genuine danger of relegation until the final day. That represents an abrupt decline for a team that within the last decade has challenged for the Premier League title and reached a Champions League final.
Club officials appear intent on providing manager Roberto De Zerbi with a reinforced squad intended to halt the slide and accelerate a return to European competition. The scale and speed of the outlays underline a clear objective: rebuild quickly and re-establish the club among contenders for UEFA places. Whether the new additions deliver the desired climb up the table will be the defining story of the early weeks of the 2026/27 season.
AC Milan
Who Earned the Most on the U.S. World Cup Squad in 2026
Top earners for the U.S. at the 2026 World Cup: Pulisic leads via strong club and commercial income.
The U.S. men’s national team is not the richest side at the 2026 World Cup, but several members of the squad nonetheless commanded substantial income in 2025–26. Sportico’s analysis of club pay, international bonuses and commercial revenue shows clear differences among the top earners.
Christian Pulisic stands out. While he earns just over $6 million per year with his Italian club, AC Milan, his total on-field earnings rise to $7.5 million, according to reported estimates. It is the commercial avenues off the field where he makes most of his money, bringing in $20 million over the last year.
Weston McKennie emerged as one of the highest earners in the squad during 2025–26. Sportico estimates he earned $7 million on the field and $8 million off it, for a total of $15 million before the World Cup.
Tim Weah’s reported on-field pay was $6 million for his season with Marseille, supplemented by off-field partnerships including New Balance. The 26-year-old has used that income to join an ownership group for USL side Brooklyn FC.
Midfielder Tyler Adams, a Premier League regular with Bournemouth in 2025–26, earned an estimated $5.5 million on the pitch and $1.5 million off it. He also holds an ownership stake in USL side Westchester SC. A 26-year-old Crystal Palace center back made $5 million with his club and added about $2.5 million through commercial deals; he has invested in Birmingham Legion FC.
Players stand to add to their earnings with a deep run at the World Cup, but U.S. men will split half of their World Cup bonus with players in the U.S. women’s national team pool. Next year, the USMNT players will also earn half of what the USWNT earns during their 2027 World Cup campaign. That arrangement, which the draft links to a 2022 collective bargaining agreement between the USMNT, USWNT and U.S. Soccer, leaves the World Cup less of a standalone cash incentive than it is for many other nations.
Highest paid players
Why West Ham Have Set Mateus Fernandes’s Valuation at $113.9m
West Ham value Mateus Fernandes at $113.9m (£85m). United have “started the conversation”. West Ham.
West Ham United have placed a substantial asking price on midfielder Mateus Fernandes, valuing him at $113.9 million (£85 million) after initial contact from potential buyers.
Fabrizio Romano shared on YouTube his information that West Ham have “decided” the $113.9 million valuation, a figure that would place Fernandes comfortably inside the top 10 most expensive players ever sold by English clubs. That sum exceeds the 2009 world record move that saw Cristiano Ronaldo leave Manchester United for Real Madrid.
According to the report, Manchester United have made early approaches in the form of contact with Fernandes’s representatives. It is suggested United, who have “started the conversation” with the people close to Fernandes, are exploring midfield options while concluding a deal for Atalanta and Brazil midfielder Éderson and potentially pursuing additional recruits.
The interest is not limited to one suitor. There are “a lot of clubs” tracking the player, both within England and overseas, and Real Madrid are among those mentioned as interested. The report notes midfield remains an area of concern for some big clubs, with established figures such as Toni Kroos and Luka Modrić yet to be replaced.
Fernandes rose to wider attention at Southampton in 2024–25 during only his second season in a top-flight side. He impressed in the Premier League despite Southampton’s relegation and moved to West Ham last August for a fee reported to be $56.8 million (£42 million), after add-ons.
The Portuguese international was capped by his country but was not selected for the 2026 World Cup. West Ham’s need to recoup significant funds is compounded by relegation-related financial pressures and a sell-on clause inserted by Southampton. A reported 15% cut to Fernandes’s fee will be due to his former club, meaning West Ham must extract a higher headline price to make a notable profit on any sale.
