Former Barcelona and PSG star Neymar could be available on a free transfer this coming January as Al Hilal is looking at terminating the Brazilian's contract, per a report from UOL.
The Saudi Pro League side has grown frustrated with the lack of availability from the 32-year-old who recently made his return from an ACL injury before suffering another setback with a long-term hamstring injury. As the hamstring problem is expected to keep Neymar out of action until mid-December, Al Hilal is tempted to get the star winger off its books.
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Since joining Al Hilal in August 2023 from PSG, Neymar has totaled one goal and three assists in seven appearances. It appears that the Al Hilal hierarchy feel it's time to move on from Neymar as he occupies one of the 10 foreign player slots. Neymar's contract runs through June 30, 2024 and he earns $110m annually, per a report from Forbes.
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Should Neymar become available on a free transfer this winter, it would make plenty of sense for Inter Miami to sign Neymar to reunite him with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Luis Suárez.
However, Miami could be put off by his recent injury history as well as MLS' strict roster rules that would force them to offload one of their three Designated Players to pay Neymar's salary. Miami's three Designated Players are Messi, Busquets and young striker Leo Campana, and if Neymar were to join the Herons, the Herons would likely have to move on from Campana or change his roster status.
While Miami head coach Gerardo 'Tata' Martino would love to reunite with his one of his former players in south Florida, he realizes it's not as simple as it may seem on the outside.
"With [Messi] and the boys already here, anything that can happen," Martino said in Spanish in a press conference last week. "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."
If Neymar did make the move to Miami, the Herons' front three of Neymar-Suárez-Messi—more commonly known as MSN during their Barcelona days—would immediately become the greatest frontline in MLS history.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Neymar's Al Hilal Contract Situation Could Pave Way for Inter Miami Transfer.