Lionel Messi vs James Harden: who has the largest salary?

It’s safe to say Lionel Messi is the most famous soccer player in the world by 2021, but at the same time, it’s equally reasonable to state James Harden has the same significance if we speak about NBA.

They are both among the highest paid athletes in the world, the Barcelona striker and the Brooklyn Nets’ shooting guard. They are huge celebrities; they could simply go around any town in the world and would be chased by lots of fans. And as such, they have sky high salaries. Let’s have a look…

As per Spotrac, Harden signed a 4-year contract with Houston Rockets valued in $171,131,520, representing an average annual salary of $42,782,880. Recently, he has shocked NBA’s transfer market after moving to Brooklyn Nets, joining fellow stars Kevin Durant and Kyrie Irving.

The same publication states Lionel Messi has a salary of $34 million, as assured by Goal.com too. He signed his last contract extension in 2017, when he was turning 30 years old. Now, by the end of June, he might become a free agent. Harden will do so when his current contract expires on 2023.