Neymar to join Messi at Inter Miami in January, Brazil legend claims

Updated: 12 Aug 2026 08:30 BST | 4 min read

Lionel Messi, Neymar, Inter Miami — © IMAGO

Robin Bairner | Chief Editor

Accredited football journalist and editor covering the game since 2006

Make us your Google favourite

Inter Miami are set to sign another superstar, with Neymar ready to join Lionel Messi and Casemiro at the star-studded MLS franchise, according to a former Brazil international.

Article continues under the video

Neymar has recently hinted at potentially retiring from the game at the age of 34 when his contract with Santos expires.

His father, though, quickly downplayed these rumours and Felipe Melo, an ex-Juventus and Brazil midfielder, has said that the former Barcelona and PSG star is set to hook up with Messi for a third time in his career.

Compared

Neymar

M, F (C)

Santos

Neymar

M, F (C)

Santos

VS

Lionel Messi

F (R)

Inter Miami

Lionel Messi

F (R)

Inter Miami

€3.6M	ETV	€11.5M
€2.9M - €4.4M	ETV Range	€10.4M - €12.7M
34 years old (05 Feb, 1992)	Age	39 years old (24 Jun, 1987)
Brazil	Nationality	Argentina

Neymar will sign for Inter Miami in January

“I spoke to a friend who had given me news about Santos. He told me that Neymar was going to play in Miami. Starting in January, Neymar will join Miami. If that happens, I will have been the first to announce the news here. Let's wait and see what happens,” Felipe Melo said in quotes published by FootMercato.

The former midfielder was speaking in response to Neymar’s comments made a few days ago, in which he indicated he could be ready to hang up his boots.

“At the end of my contract, I'll consider whether to stay at Santos, leave, or end my career. I really don't know what I'm going to do,” he claimed.

© IMAGO - Neymar and Lionel Messi have already played together at Barcelona and PSG

Is it possible for Inter Miami to sign Neymar?

If Neymar were to join Messi at Inter Miami, it would only add to the strength of David Beckham’s franchise, who also have Casemiro and Rodrigo De Paul on an absolutely stacked roster.

Casemiro, a Brazil team-mate of Neymar’s, was the latest big name to hook up with the Florida outfit when he joined the club as a free agent from Manchester United following the 2026 World Cup.

With all three of Inter Miami’s Designated Player (DP) slots taken up, Casemiro’s deal had to be carefully executed via the non-DP/maximum-salary mechanism.

It’s unclear how Inter Miami intend to add another big-name player like Neymar to their squad. It appears highly unlikely that a new DP slot will be opened up in January given that German Berterame signed a long-term contract with the club in January, while Messi and De Paul both still have multiple years left on their contracts.

In principle, Inter Miami could sign another player using the same method that allowed them to add Casemiro to their roster, but the Targeted Allocation Money (TAM) rules are not limitless and are not even sufficient to cover his estimated $2.27m per year wages at Santos.

Despite Felipe Melo’s claim that Neymar is heading to Inter Miami, it’s clear there are some financial hurdles that need to be cleared if that is to be made possible.