On December 20, Inter Miami announced that they had officially transferred star attacker Leonardo Campana to the New England Revolution for a fee of 2.5 million USD. At the same time, Neymar spoke up about the possibility of reuniting with Messi.
Ecuadorian striker Leonardo Campana, 24, used to be the top scorer for Inter Miami. But since David Beckham’s team became president and co-owner and recruited the famous player Messi, things have gradually changed. Campana has only played a reserve role, and has been surpassed by Messi in the record of scoring the most goals in the history of the team, respectively 32 goals after 100 matches compared to 34 goals in only 39 matches.
Campana’s place throughout the 2024 season has been taken by veteran striker Luis Suarez, Messi’s close friend. The Uruguayan has signed a contract extension for another season in 2025, and is currently fourth on Inter Miami’s all-time scoring list with 25 goals in 37 games, behind only Gonzalo Higuain (29 goals since retiring), and 7 goals behind Campana.
Inter Miami is aiming to comprehensively upgrade its attack with top stars and links to famous player Messi, after appointing a new coach, Mr. Javier Mascherano, who is also a familiar figure with the 37-year-old Argentine player.
Recently, Inter Miami also sold young star Diego Gomez to Brighton Club in the English Premier League for a club record fee of 18 million USD. In addition, Mr. David Beckham’s team also said goodbye to 7 other players when their contracts or loan periods ended.
The almost complete change in the force, helps Inter Miami increase the transfer fee significantly and expand the salary fund, along with the designated player quota as prescribed by MLS (American professional soccer league), to aim for bigger goals of recruiting top stars. One of them is star Neymar, who plays for Al Hilal Club in the Saudi Pro League (Saudi Arabia).
Neymar recently officially spoke about the possibility of joining Inter Miami to reunite with Messi and Suarez, saying: “Up to this point, I am still an Al Hilal player. But football is always full of surprises. Suarez is my best friend. And Messi is my idol and also my best friend. Messi is the person that every player wants to play with, because he makes everything easier.
I don’t know what will happen. For now, I want to play in the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup with Al Hilal. This tournament is very important for the club. Obviously, the World Cup is the goal of all players. I played in three World Cups with Brazil, and I want to come back soon for the fourth World Cup.”
Neymar’s contract with Al Hilal runs until June 2025. The Saudi Arabian club has recently expressed their intention to part ways with the 32-year-old striker as soon as the winter transfer window opens on January 1, 2025, to recoup costs and cut back on the exorbitant salary (nearly $200 million/year, including salary and other expenses).
Neymar has only played 7 matches for Al Hilal so far, scoring 1 goal and having 3 assists since August 2023. The rest of the time, this Brazilian player is just recovering from injuries.
Billionaire Jorge Mas and David Beckham, co-owners of Inter Miami, have recently revealed their plans to recruit Neymar when the opportunity arises. However, negotiations have remained secret so far. Neymar also has another option, which is to return to Santos Club in Brazil.
