Mascherano plays down 'impossible' Neymar move

Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said on Thursday it was “impossible” to even consider bringing Neymar to the club to link up with his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez due to Major League Soccer‘s salary cap rules.

Neymar struck up a lethal partnership with Messi and Suárez at Barcelona before moving to Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

The 32-year-old forward, whose contract with Saudi club Al Hilal is up in June, told CNN earlier in the week it would be “incredible” if the Barça trio linked up again but Mascherano said there was no deal on the table.

“We cannot talk about Ney because we have nothing,” Mascherano said at MLS media day in Miami.

“Obviously Ney is a great player. Every coach in the world wants him but at the moment, but you know the MLS rules around the salary cap. So for us in this moment, it’s impossible to try to think about him.”

Neymar has played only seven times for Al Hilal since moving from PSG for €90 million ($98.6m) in 2023, with injuries keeping the Brazilian on the sidelines for long periods.

Former Argentina midfielder Mascherano was hired by Inter Miami in November to replace Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who stepped down from the role citing personal reasons.

Miami topped the MLS regular season standings and won the Supporters’ Shield with a record 74 points in 34 games but were knocked out in the first round of the MLS Cup playoffs.

Mascherano said getting his players in the right mindset would be as important as getting them on the same page tactically.

“It’s important to translate to the team not just my ideas on how to play but to try to enjoy day by day,” he said.

“Football you have to enjoy every training session to arrive to the matches in good condition to compete. So we will try this from the beginning and see if we can do it.”