A possible Neymar move to Major League Soccer could gain momentum as the Al Hilal striker is in talks with three MLS teams, including the Chicago Fire, according to ESPN. Although there were reports that Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto and head coach Gregg Berhalter were in Saudi Arabia negotiating with Al Hilal, a source with knowledge of the situation confirms that was not the case.
The 32-year-old Brazilian has not played much for Al Hilal due to knee and hamstring injuries. He was also not included in their squad to play in the Saudi Pro League, although he was able to feature in Asian Champions League matches. . Neymar has made just seven appearances for Al Hilal since joining the club in 2023, recording one goal and two assists. Still not healthy due to his current hamstring injury, the start of his tenure at any club would be a period of rehabilitation. Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus says he will not be included because he can no longer perform at his normal level.
“It’s not easy. He’s coming back from an injury that kept him out of the competition. When he was almost back, he got injured again. He’s a player who doesn’t let “No doubt in anyone’s mind, he’s a world-class player. But the truth is that physically he hasn’t been able to keep up with the pace of the team,” Jesus said during a meeting. post-match press conference.
“It’s not easy. We have to withdraw a foreign player to register Neymar. Neymar is registered in the Asian Champions League, but he is not registered in any competition, which is the championship. He will also decide his life. What I know is that he has a contract with Al-Hilal and the rest, it is not for me to say more about his personal situation.
Could a reunion with Lionel Messi be considered?
The most obvious match would be Inter Miami, where Neymar has spoken about wanting to reunite with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, and Suarez has also explained that he would like to play with Neymar again. The trio set the football world on fire when they were together at Barcelona around a decade ago, but Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano downplayed that possibility during MLS media day.
“We can’t talk about Ney because we have nothing on him,” Mascherano said. “Obviously Ney is a great player, everyone or every coach in the world wants him but at the moment you know the rules, the MLS rules regarding the salary cap. So for us right now it’s is impossible…”
The important words here are “at the moment.” since then, the MLS has already unveiled a new mechanism which teams can use to gain funds on domestic transfers, there is nothing stopping Inter Miami from releasing salaries to pursue players if they wish.
Interest in the Chicago Fire
According to GIVEMESPORT, The Chicago Fire have discovery rights to Neymar, giving them exclusive negotiating rights with the global superstar. Neymar’s salary demands are reportedly high since he earns around $100 million a year at Al Hilal, but with a similar salary structure to Messi’s, which includes money from Adidas and Apple, there are ways for the league and the Fire to get creative to get Neymar. to the MLS.
Chicago has been busy under Gregg Berhalter preparing for the season, but the club currently only has one designated player, so it would be easy for them to add any player they could convince to join their project. The blank slate gives the Fire flexibility and they have also already signed global superstars like Bastian Schweinsteiger. It would be a long way for a movement to happen, but that doesn’t make it impossible.
What are discovery rights?
A club is allowed to have up to five players on their discovery roster at any time to give them exclusive negotiating rights with those players if they come to MLS. There are some restrictions, such as players who have played in MLS or are currently playing or players who are currently on another team’s scouting list. If a club wants to sign a player to another club’s discovery list, it can offer $50,000 in general allocation money for those rights, but negotiations can go further.
When the LA Galaxy signed Marco Reus, he was on Charlotte FC’s discovery list, which gave Charlotte exclusive negotiating rights with the German. The Galaxy were able to trade those rights, but acquiring them cost $400,000 in GAM due to the player involved and Charlotte making sure they could profit. If a team were to trade those rights from Chicago to negotiate for Neymar, they would surely be higher than what the Galaxy paid, which would only make the decision even more complicated for a team like Inter Miami.
Although Neymar would surely aim for a place with Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, getting back to his club best will be key to achieving that. It seems there is an increasing chance that that spot will be in Major League Soccer, where the transfer window opens on January 31.
