Inter Miami should end speculation, just say 'no' to Neymar Jr. | OneFootball

Neymar Jr. may want to play in Miami; do the Herons need him?

Say it with me: Inter Miami should not sign Neymar Jr. There is no footballing reason to reunite the aging, injury-prone legend with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez, and the ambitious, upwardly mobile Herons no longer need gimmicks to sell jerseys and tickets.

Every few months, somebody suggests that Miami wants to reunite the Messi-Suárez-Neymar frontline of a decade ago in Barcelona, or that Messi wants to bring Neymar to South Florida, or that Neymar will strengthen the Herons' Major League Soccer-leading attack. Nothing has come of it, because it doesn't make sense. We've been writing about Neymar rumors since at least 2023, when Messi joined Inter Miami: "Neymar to Inter Miami Isn’t Happening."

It hasn't happened yet, and it's not likely to happen. But here we go again; this time, the rumor started when "a friend" told former Brazil defender Felipe Melo that Neymar would play at Inter Miami beginning in January.

"I talked to a friend of mine who passed me some news about Santos before," Melo said according to a story in the Daily Mail. "He told me Neymar is going to play in Miami. Starting in January, Neymar is going to Miami.

'"If it happens, I was the first one to break the news here. Let's wait and see what happens."

There you go; sounds like a done deal to me.

There is a single scenario in which I can imagine -- with a great deal of effort -- that Inter Miami might sign Neymar before the 2027 "sprint" season; as a gift to the millions of fans who fondly remember the MSN of Barcelona, one of the best attacking trios ever assembled. Major League Soccer decided to play a drastically shortened "sprint" season -- 14 matches instead of the normal 34 -- before switching to a fall-spring schedule.

The sprint season itself is a gimmick, filler to keep MLS fans engaged during the schedule change; it may be the perfect time to bring in someone of Neymar's stature and star power to help bridge the gap between meaningful campaigns. And offering Neymar a six-month contract with an option year could help keep Messi interested in the project through the end of his contract. That's not nothing.

But please, let's not pretend adding Neymar will improve the product on the field. Sadly, the man compared to Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as a 23-year-old hasn't aged as well as either. Or as well as the persistent rumors of his joining Las Garzas.