Lionel Messi salary and the Australian full-time average
Lionel Messi is one of the most famous footballers in the world, but his exact salary is not published in the Australian Bureau of Statistics or Fair Work sources used on this site. Without a confirmed figure from those official sources, we cannot give a precise comparison. However, we can use the Australian salary benchmarks to sketch what a resident take-home might look like for a very high earner, and show how the national averages stack up.
The national full-time average: the line on the page
The ABS Average Weekly Earnings survey for May 2026 puts full-time adult ordinary time earnings at $2,083.70 per week. That is about $108,352 a year before tax. This is the reference line on this site. For context, the full-time median (from the ABS Employee Earnings survey, August 2025) is lower at about $90,532 a year, and the all-employees median is about $74,100. The national minimum wage from 1 July 2026, set by Fair Work, is $26.44 an hour, or $52,255 a year on a 38-hour week.
A take-home sketch for a very high earner
If Lionel Messi earned, say, a hypothetical $50 million a year (a figure often cited in football contracts, though not from our sources), the Australian tax system would take a large slice. For the 2026–27 income year, the ATO tax brackets are: nil up to $18,200, 15% to $45,000, 30% to $135,000, 37% to $190,000, and 45% above that. Plus a 2% Medicare levy. On $50 million, almost all of it would be taxed at 45% plus the levy, meaning a tax bill of roughly $22.5 million, leaving about $27.5 million after tax. That is still far above the average, but the gap narrows in percentage terms.
How the average compares across states and territories
The full-time average varies across Australia. The highest is the Australian Capital Territory at about $119,090 a year, followed by Western Australia at $115,825, New South Wales at $109,658, Victoria at $106,137, Queensland at $106,064, the Northern Territory at $103,173, South Australia at $102,450, and Tasmania at $96,008. Even the lowest state average is well above the national minimum wage. You can explore more on the states and territories page.
Medians and the distribution of earnings
The median gives a better sense of what a typical worker earns. For full-time employees, the median weekly earnings in August 2025 were $1,741 per week (about $90,532 a year). For all employees (including part-time), the median was $1,425 per week ($74,100 a year). The 90th percentile of all employees was $3,000 per week ($156,000 a year). So even a very high earner like Messi would be far above the 90th percentile, but the official sources do not capture earnings at that level.
Minimum wage and award rates
Fair Work sets the national minimum wage and award minimums. From 1 July 2026, the minimum wage is $26.44 per hour, or $1,004.90 per week for a 38-hour week. Award minimums rose by 4.75% from that date. For someone on the minimum wage, the annual pre-tax income is about $52,255. That is less than half the full-time average, and a tiny fraction of a superstar footballer's earnings.
What this means for the Lionel Messi salary question
Without a confirmed figure from the ABS, Fair Work, or the ATO, we cannot place Lionel Messi's salary on the line. But the tools on this site let you place any salary on the line to see how it compares to the national full-time average, the median, and the minimum wage. You can also explore job medians or industry medians for more context.
A note on sources
All averages in this article come from the ABS Average Weekly Earnings, May 2026. Medians come from the ABS Employee Earnings, August 2025. The minimum wage and award increases are from Fair Work, effective 1 July 2026. Tax rates are from the ATO for 2026–27. These are the official sources used throughout this site.
Conclusion
Lionel Messi's salary is not published in the Australian official statistics we rely on, so we cannot give a precise comparison. But the Australian salary landscape shows a wide range: from the minimum wage of about $52,255 to the full-time average of $108,352, and up to the top percentiles. For a hypothetical very high earner, the tax system would take a significant share, but the after-tax income would still be many times the average. To see where your own salary sits, use the tools on this site.