Inter Miami could be on the verge of pulling off one of the most stunning reunions in recent soccer history, according to former Brazil international Felipe Melo. The ex-midfielder claims Neymar is preparing to leave Santos and join Miami as early as January, which would reunite him with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez.
Melo made the claim on his television show, FMTV, saying: “I got in touch with a friend, and that friend told me that Neymar is going to leave Santos to play for Inter Miami starting in January“. No official talks have been confirmed by either party, but the report has quickly gained traction given the timing of Neymar’s contract situation.
Neymar’s current deal with Santos runs through December 31, 2026. Should he choose not to renew, he would become a free agent, opening the door for Inter Miami to sign him without having to negotiate a transfer fee — a scenario that would significantly simplify any potential move.
A reunion would revive the legendary “MSN” trio Neymar formed with Messi and Suarez at Barcelona between 2014 and 2017, one of the most prolific attacking lines the sport has seen.
Luis Suarez, Lionel Messi and Neymar celebrate with the UEFA Champions League trophy. (Getty Images)
Together, the three combined for 363 goals and 173 assists across three seasons, including 131 combined goals in the 2015-16 campaign alone, with Messi and Neymar linking up for 56 direct goal combinations across 161 matches played together.
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Would Neymar actually fit under MLS’s salary cap rules?
The league allows clubs operating under the three–Designated Player model — which Miami uses — to carry up to three DPs, players whose salaries can exceed the league’s maximum salary budget charge of $803,125 for 2026. Inter Miami currently appears to have all three of those slots filled, with Messi, Rodrigo De Paul and German Berterame all holding Designated Player status.
If Miami wanted to bring in Neymar, the club would likely need to move one of its current Designated Players first — meaning any reunion, at least for now, depends on more than just Neymar’s willingness to sign.
Why a TAM deal wouldn’t work for Neymar
Could Inter Miami replicate the same trick they used with Suarez and bring in Neymar without touching a Designated Player slot? Unlikely. Each MLS club receives a Targeted Allocation Money pool of $2.125 million for the 2026 season, money designed to buy down the cap charges of upper-tier starters — not to disguise a global superstar’s salary as a non-DP contract.
Suarez’s deal was only workable because his compensation could be structured to fit within that pool; a contract commensurate with Neymar’s market value would fall far outside those limits. That gap is precisely why the Designated Player mechanism exists in the first place: to let clubs sign players whose salaries have no ceiling.
