MSN: Miami – Neymar to join Lionel Messi & Luis Suárez for Barcelona reunion in MLS?
Neymar has been linked with a move to Inter Miami and a link-up with Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez et al. So could it happen?
Could Neymar be the next player to join the Barcelona reunion at Inter Miami? With Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez all together at the Florida outfit, the Brazilian attacker is the latest former FCB star linked with a move to the MLS side.
Neymar has recently returned from a long spell on the sidelines, having ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament on international duty with Brazil last October, shortly after signing for Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
The Brazilian missed more than 50 matches and was de-registered from the squad during his long recovery, finally making his return as a late substitute in Al-Hilal’s 5-4 win over Al Ain in the AFC Champions League last month.
But the 32-year-old has now reportedly spent £20 million ($26m) on a luxury property in Miami’s exclusive Bal Harbour area, which has led to speculation that the Brazilian will soon be turning out for the Florida club alongside his former team-mates when his current contract expires in June 2025.
Together, the three South Americans formed a formidable forward line at Barça which was regularly referred to as MSN (Messi, Suárez, Neymar), won a treble and was described by coach Luis Enrique as “the best front three in the history of football”. It was hard to disagree.
As well as their special understanding on the pitch, the three are firm friends off the field of play and famously shared a WhatsApp group.
Neymar never really wanted to leave Barcelona. Hand on heart, the Brazilian attacker would probably have stayed at the Catalan club. But his father had other ideas and, with huge money on offer at Paris Saint-Germain, he left Camp Nou under a cloud. The former Santos attacker would go on to play with Messi at PSG, but Suárez was not there.
Asked about the possibility of Neymar moving to Miami, Messi told InfoBae last month: “The truth is that it is difficult now, he is in Saudi Arabia, and he has one more year left on his contract, it seems to me.
“He went through a difficult year, where he was injured for a long time, which has left him out of the Copa America as well. Now it’s difficult. Later, I don’t know, the truth is that life takes so many turns that anything can happen, but I don’t think that today, no.”
Neymar previously told ESPN Argentina: “Hopefully we can play together again. Leo is a great person, everyone knows him in football and I think he is very happy and if he is happy, I am too.”
Inter Miami coach Gerardo Martino also worked with Neymar at Barcelona in 2013-14. Asked about the rumours, the Argentine said: “With [Messi] and the boys already here, anything can happen. What I can’t imagine is if the league doesn’t make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out.
“After writing it or saying it in the media it’s all good, nothing happens, it doesn’t have any consequences, but what would the implementation be like? And the reality is that if there is something that the MLS has, it is that the rules are strict and can’t be broken, unless the MLS decides to change.”
How would MLS rules affect a deal for Neymar?
Messi is Major League Soccer’s highest-paid player, making $20.4 million per year. Busquets is third, earning $8.8 million. Under the league’s current rules, Neymar would therefore have to sign a similar low-paying deal to Suárez, who is on around $200,000 per year. For context, the Brazilian currently takes home a massive $80 million annually at Al-Hilal.
MLS Commissioner Don Garber has defended the league’s salary cap rules, but has suggested things could change. “In terms of governance, we’d probably change things: maybe not have strict salary caps, maybe not have a centralised entity like the league office making a lot of learned decisions based on committees and the like,” he said. “But I think we have a model that has driven our success, and I think if that model was adapted around the world, football would be in much, much better shape.”
Martino added: “Everyone that buys a home here is going to come to play? Ha! I arrived in Barcelona at the same time as [Neymar]. It was a good year and for me being able to coach such high-ranking players will always be a very special memory.
“The truth is that one cannot talk so easily and freely about whether a player could come or not. It seems to me that when we talk about this, another type of support is needed. We cannot talk or mention a player because he bought a house here or has a girlfriend from Fort Lauderdale.
“It’s nonsense, you have to speak with conclusive things. First you have to analyse what the league offers and if this is really possible. Starting from that base, today this is impossible, so there is no more continuity in this conversation.”
But at the end of his contract, with all of that extra money in the bank, Neymar might just consider a huge pay cut in order to be happy with two of his greatest friends – especially given all the commercial opportunities likely to be open to him in the United States. It would be a lot of fun.
Yes
That would be the craziest thing ever to happen to football, MSN reunited. Tata did deny it, but there is no better club for Neymar right now than being with Messi & Suarez at Miami to make more history. Miami, here we come 🙌🏻