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Neymar’s potential move to Major League Soccer could gain momentum as the Al Hilal forward is in talks with three MLS teams, including the Chicago Fire, according to ESPN. While there have been reports that Chicago Fire owner Joe Mansueto and head coach Gregg Berhalter were in Saudi Arabia to negotiate with Al Hilal, a source with knowledge of the situation confirms that this was not in fact the case.
The 32-year-old Brazilian has not played much for Al Hilal due to injuries to his knee and hamstring and has also not been included in their squad for Saudi Pro League matches, despite being able to play in their 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 rehabilitation period. Al Hilal coach Jorge Jesus said they will not register him 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 leaves no doubt in anyone’s mind, he’s a world-class player. But the The truth is that he has not been physically able to keep up with the team,” Jesus said at a post-match press conference.
“It’s not easy. We have to eliminate a foreign player to register Neymar. Neymar is registered for the Asian Champions League, but he is not registered for one 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 is not for me to say more about his personal situation.”
Could a Lionel Messi reunion be in the cards?
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 spoken about how he would like to play with Neymar again. The trio set the football world on fire when they were together in Barcelona about a decade ago, but Inter Miami’s manager Javier Mascherano downplayed the possibility during MLS media day.
“We can’t talk about Ney because we don’t have anything about him,” Mascherano said. “Obviously Ney is a great player. Everyone or every coach in the world wants him, but right now you know the rules, the MLS rules about the salary cap. So for us right now it’s impossible…”
The important words there are: ‘at this moment’. MLS has since done just that a new mechanism revealed that teams can use to raise money for domestic transfers, there is nothing stopping Inter Miami from freeing up salaries to pursue players if they wish.
Chicago Fire interest
According to GIVEMESPORT, the Chicago Fire have Neymar’s discovery rights, giving them exclusive negotiating rights with the global superstar. Neymar’s salary demands would be high considering he earns around $100 million a year at Al Hilal, but with a wage structure similar to Messi’s, including money from Adidas and Apple, there are ways for the league and the Fire to get creative to get Neymar. to MLS.
Chicago has been busy pre-season under Gregg Berhalter, but the club currently only has one designated player, so they could easily add a player they could convince to join their project. The clean slate gives the Fire flexibility and they have also previously signed global superstars such as Bastian Schweinsteiger. It would take a long time for any step to be taken, but that doesn’t make it impossible.
What are discovery rights?
A club may have up to five players on their discovery list at any time to give them exclusive negotiating rights with those players if they come to the MLS. There are some restrictions, such as players who have been or are currently playing in the MLS or players who are currently on another team’s discover list. If a club wants to sign a player on another club’s discovery list, they can offer $50,000 in general allocation money for those rights, but negotiations can go higher.
When 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 for those rights, but it cost GAM $400,000 to acquire because the player involved and Charlotte allowed them to benefit. If a team were to trade these rights from Chicago to negotiate with Neymar, they would certainly be higher than what the Galaxy paid, which would only complicate a move for a team like Inter Miami.
While Neymar is certainly looking to secure a place with Brazil at the 2026 World Cup, getting back to his best will be crucial for any club. It seems likely that that spot will be in Major League Soccer, where the transfer window opens on January 31.