Regarding injuries, Neymar hasn’t been able to recover since he arrived at Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal.
The Brazilian missed over a year recovering from an ACL tear. Recently, in just his second game back, he suffered a hamstring injury and is now set to be sidelined again for another four to six weeks. This newest ailment intensifies speculation over Neymar’s future with the Saudi Arabian club.
Al-Hilal paid a transfer fee of around $90 million to Paris Saint-Germain for Neymar, and the Brazilian has a staggering $140 million yearly salary. Having played only seven games since his arrival in 2023, Daily Mail is reporting that Al-Hilal could look to cut their losses and terminate the 32-year-old’s contract early, with him failing to deliver on his hefty price tag and salary.
If Al-Hilal and Neymar do part ways with one another, it begs the question, what is next for Neymar’s career? At the moment, there seem to be only two possible destinations.
The first could be a return to his boyhood club, Brazilian side Santos. Neymar has said that he hopes to one day return to Santos to end his career, and if his contract at Al-Hilal gets terminated, now could be that time. After being relegated last season, Santos sits first in the Brasileiro Serie B. If Santos wins promotion back to the top division in Brazil, it could be a perfect time for their club legend to return to play out the last few years of his career.
The second possible destination for Neymar is to reunite with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alaba at MLS side Inter Miami. Neymar reportedly just recently bought a mega mansion in Miami, fueling speculation he could be looking to come to the United States to reunite with his old Barcelona pals.
However, Neymar’s coming to the MLS may not be as easy as time seems. The league has strict roster rules regarding foreign players, and all the designated spots on Inter Miami’s roster are already occupied. The team would have to make profound roster changes and figure out salary issues to accommodate the Brazilian. While it sounds unlikely, it is still possible, and Inter Miami remains an option for the next step in Neymar’s career.
When Neymar departed Barcelona for Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, many thought the Brazilian was going to find his top form and become the best player in the world he had the potential to become. Instead, an injury-plagued career followed, which derailed Neymar from reaching his true potential.
