"Son Heungmin, wait for me!" Neymar of the same age, MLS' move to Cincinnati in a surprise move... Should we go for the best "real battle" in the U.S

*This content was translated by AI.

Brazil's world-class soccer star Neymar (34, Santos) will enter the Major League Soccer (MLS) in the U.S. professional soccer. Maybe he could face Son Heung-min (34, LAFC).

Britain's "The Athletic" reported on the 9th (Korea Standard Time) that "Cincinnati is in preliminary discussions with Neymar on the MLS transfer."

The media said, "The discussion is still in its infancy. The Cincinnati club added that it is internally reviewing whether it makes sense to pursue a global superstar recruitment while gauging Neymar's interest and requirements.

According to the media, Cincinnati is confident that the club's powerful financial power and state-of-the-art facilities will be attractive factors for a star player like Neymar. In the past, the club has shown its willingness to attract star players by contacting them to recruit players from the U.S. national team such as Western McKennie and Josh Sandot.

However, there is room to see whether the transfer will be made. Neymar is under contract until the end of 2026 with Santos, who spent his youth. He also held serious negotiations with the Chicago Fire when he left Al Hilal at the end of 2025, but eventually extended his contract for another season after signing a short-term contract with Santos.

Neymar, who turned 34 this year, is still in form. Despite frequent injuries last season, he made 28 appearances and scored 11 goals and four assists to save Santos from relegation. He also scored three goals and two assists in his first four league games this season. "Neymar is struggling to prove his condition to Brazilian national team coach Carlo Ancelotti ahead of the upcoming 2026 2026 FIFA North and Central America World Cup," the media said.

Another potential variable in recruitment is Cincinnati's roster situation. There is currently no designated player (DP) position in Cincinnati. Kevin Denki, Miles Robinson and Evander occupy all three-digit DP quarters for the rest of the year.

The media said, "All three players have long-term contracts, so it is impossible to secure a position by shortening the contract period. However, Denki, who joined the club's highest transfer fee of $16.1 million (about 24 billion won) ahead of the 2025 season, received attention from European clubs at the end of the winter transfer market, so there is no possibility of leaving at all," he said.

Meanwhile, MLS teams are again eager to recruit global stars after the commercial success that Lionel Messi brought. In recent years, Son Heung-min, Marco Reus (LA Galaxy), Hugo Lloris (LAFC), Thomas Müller (VANCOUVER), Wilfried Zaha (Shalott), Rodrigo de Paul (Miami), James Rodriguez (Minnesota), Timo Werner (San Jose), and Antoine Griezmann (Orando City) have joined or will join MLS.

The confrontation between Son Heung-min and Neymar, who have already become MLS superstars, is also a factor that raises expectations. During the Brazil national team's warm-up match in Korea in June 2022, the two met in the locker room and exchanged each other's uniforms, creating a heartwarming scene. Attention is focusing on whether the two world-class strikers, who have shown deep respect for each other, will be able to meet again on the U.S. stage.

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*This content was translated by AI.