Is Inter Miami planning a Messi-Suarez-Neymar reunion?
Brazilian striker Neymar has been fielding questions about a move to Major League Soccer for years. But as the clock ticks down on his contract with Al-Hilal in Saudi Arabia, those questions are becoming more pointed — and Neymar’s answers are becoming more concrete.
“Obviously, playing again with Messi and Suárez would be incredible. They are my friends, we still speak to each other,” Neymar told CNN recently after winning an award in Dubai. “It would be interesting to revive this trio.
“I’m happy at Al-Hilal, I’m happy in Saudi Arabia, but who knows? Football is full of surprises.”
Soccer is indeed full of surprises, but a reunion of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar — Barcelona’s era-defining attacking trio colloquially known as MSN — wouldn’t be one of them. General managers the world over have salivated over the prospect or reuniting the three since they first split up in 2017.
When Inter Miami signed Messi to a multi-year contract in 2023, it did so with the clear intention of reuniting him with his fellow Barcelona stars, and it has unquestionably delivered upon that intention. Striker Suarez, midfielder Sergio Busquets and defender Jordi Alba soon joined Messi in Florida; ex-midfielder and current coach Javier Mascherano followed suit at the end of 2024.
Neymar has been unavailable throughout Inter Miami’s rebuild, locked into an ironclad contract in Saudi Arabia and sidelined with a serious injury. And Miami, for its part, wasn’t able to sign him anyway; it maxed out its roster for the 2023 and 2024 seasons.
So what has changed for 2025? Is Neymar truly available for (and interested in) MLS? And does Miami have the flexibility to sign him?
The answer, on both counts, is yes. The two parties have spent the past few weeks making important moves toward a deal. Here’s what’s changed to make a Messi-Suarez-Neymar MLS reunion a legitimate possibility in 2025:
Neymar’s contract has run down — and he has declined to sign an extension. Neymar’s deal with Al-Hilal expires in June, soon after the close of the Saudi Pro League season. Neymar hasn’t signed an extension with the team, and it’s easy to understand why: He’s had a rough time in the Middle East, playing just five games before suffering a ruptured ACL and enduring a year-long recovery process. Neymar’s injury was so severe that Al-Hilal de-registered him as a player in 2024; the club doesn’t seem interested in hanging on to him either.
Inter Miami has re-signed Suarez. Messi, the anchor of the MSN trio, is contracted with Inter Miami until 2026. But Suarez, the fiesty Uruguayan striker, joined Miami on a one-year deal that expired after the 2024 season. There were serious doubts about Suarez’s future in soccer, let alone his future with Miami; his chronic knee injury required serious care throughout his MLS tenure.
Smack in the middle of the Thanksgiving holiday, though, Miami and Suarez quietly came to an agreement. They extended their mutual contract through 2025, giving Neymar and Suarez a potential half-season overlap in the back half of the MLS calendar.
Inter Miami quietly freed up a designated player spot. MLS teams can’t sign stars with abandon; they’re limited to three “designated players” whose wages exceed the league’s traditional cap. Miami had Messi, Busquets and Argentinian striker Leo Campana in its three DP slots for 2024. It had no room for Neymar.
A few weeks ago, though, Miami sold Campana to the New England Revolution. His departure leaves one DP slot open … one that could easily become Neymar’s this summer.
Neymar’s Al-Hilal is second in the Saudi Pro League and will continue its season Saturday against Al-Orobah (home of former LAFC striker Cristian Tello). Miami, meanwhile, is in its offseason and will return to MLS action on Feb. 22 against NYCFC.
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