USA TODAY
Neymar may have just bought a $26 million home in Miami, but that doesn’t necessarily mean a move to Inter Miami is on the cards.
That is according to Herons head coach Gerardo “Tata” Martino, who was forced to address another round of links between his side and the Brazil superstar on Friday.
Earlier this week, The Wall Street Journal reported that Neymar had shelled out big money for a waterfront residential plot in Miami’s Bal Harbour neighborhood, around 25 miles from Inter Miami’s home in Fort Lauderdale.
Neymar, who currently plays for Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, has been linked with Inter Miami since his former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba, Sergio Busquets and Luis Suárez all joined the MLS club over the past year.
Though Neymar reuniting with some of his old pals would make some sense on the surface, Martino insisted that a move was highly unlikely without some major changes to MLS’s salary rules.
“With [Lionel Messi] and the boys already here, anything can happen. What I can’t imagine is if the league doesn’t make the salary issue more flexible, how it would be carried out,” Martino said.
Martino added that a player buying real estate — particularly one as well-compensated as Neymar — isn’t nearly enough for a credible rumor of an impending transfer.
