Is Neymar coming to MLS? Transfer reporters have indicated that the Chicago Fire are among the suitors as the 32-year-old Brazilian winger looks to write his…
Report: Erling Haaland's Man City Contract Among 'Most Lucrative' in Sports History
Jan 17, 2025
BRENTFORD, ENGLAND - JANUARY 14: Erling Haaland of Manchester City applauds the fans at full-time following the team's draw in the Premier League match between Brentford FC and Manchester City FC at Gtech Community Stadium on January 14, 2025 in Brentford, England. (Photo by Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
Having led Manchester City to Premier League titles in each of his first two seasons with the club, Erling Haaland has been rewarded with a historic contract extension.
City announced on Friday that Haaland signed a 10-year deal that runs through the summer of 2034.
Financial terms of the deal weren't disclosed, but ESPN's Rob Dawson reported it ranks "among the most lucrative contracts in sports history."
Dawson noted that Haaland's previous deal ran until 2027 and included buyout clauses, but those have been removed from the new contract.
There had been speculation that Haaland was seeking a release clause to do a new deal with City because of his rumored interest in eventually joining Real Madrid.
It's difficult to rank world football contracts because exact financial details are often difficult to parse out.
ESPN's Chris Wright did note the length of Haaland's new deal compares to past contracts for superstars like Denilson (10 years from Real Betis), Lionel Messi (nine years from Barcelona) and Cesc Fàbregas (eight years from Arsenal).
Just looking at the richest contracts in North American pro sports history, the most lucrative belong to Juan Soto of the New York Mets (15 years, $765 million) and Shohei Ohtani of the Los Angeles Dodgers (10 years, $700 million).
They are the only players known to have contracts that are currently worth at least $500 million. Patrick Mahomes' 10-year contract with the Kansas City Chiefs originally signed in July 2020 contained escalators and mechanisms that could bring its value up to $503 million.
Haaland signed with Man City in May 2022 after he spent two years with Borussia Dortmund. The 24-year-old has scored 79 goals in 87 appearances with the Blues. He set a Premier League record for most goals through three games in a season to start the 2024-25 campaign when he scored seven times, including back-to-back hat tricks against Ipswich Town and West Ham.
Man City has won four straight Premier League titles dating back to the 2020-21 season. He has kept the Blues atop the standings in his first two years.
City currently ranks sixth in the 2024-25 Premier League standings with a 10-5-6 record through 21 matches. Haaland will ring in his new contract on Saturday when he leads City against Ipswich Town.
Report: Neymar in Transfer Talks with 3 MLS Clubs; Lionel Messi's Inter Miami Out
Jan 16, 2025
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA - NOVEMBER 04: Neymar of Al-Hilal reacts during the AFC Champions League Elite match between Al-Hilal and Esteghlal at Kingdom Arena on November 04, 2024 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. (Photo by Yasser Bakhsh/Getty Images)
Neymar could be joining the MLS soon.
Per ESPN's Jeff Carlisle, the Brazil and Al Hilal star is in talks with three MLS teams about a possible transfer. According to Carlisle, one of the three teams Neymar is talking to is Chicago Fire FC, but Lionel Messi's Inter Miami is not currently in the running.
Last week, Inter Miami manager Javier Mascherano said that while "every coach in the world wants" Neymar, MLS restrictions would make adding the striker "impossible."
"We cannot talk about Ney because we have nothing," Mascherano told reporters at MLS media day. "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."
According to Carlisle, Neymar is still "holding out hope" of joining his former Barcelona teammates Messi and Luis Suarez at Inter Miami.
Neymar, who was with Paris Saint-Germain from 2017 to 2023, joined Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal in 2023 for a fee of $97.6 million. His time with the club has not gone as he would have hoped as he dealt with a handful of injuries since his arrival.
Shortly after making his debut for his new club in September of 2023, he suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee while on international duty in October, ending his club season after just five games.
He returned to the field this fall, but a hamstring injury has limited his play this season. He's played just seven games and has registered one goal during his time with Al Hilal.
His Al Hilal contract runs through June and he can begin negotiating contracts with a new team.
Even if he is unable to join Messi, Neymar's MLS debut would undoubtedly be highly anticipated if he decides to join the league.
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Neymar: Would Be 'Incredible' to Join Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez with Inter Miami
Jan 7, 2025
VILLARREAL, SPAIN - JANUARY 08: Lionel Messi (R), Neymar JR and Luis Suarez (L) of Barcelona look on prior to the La Liga match between Villarreal CF and FC Barcelona at Estadio de la Ceramica on January 8, 2017 in Villarreal, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images)
Neymar is open to reuniting with former Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez on Inter Miami.
The Brazilian star told CNN Sport's Amanda Davies that joining the pair in MLS "would be incredible."
"They are my friends," he said. "We still speak to each other. It would be interesting to revive this trio. I'm happy at Al-Hilal, I'm happy in Saudi Arabia, but who knows. Football is full of surprises."
Over the years, MLS has been derided as a "retirement league" because it would sign aging stars in an effort to cash in on their popularity and the credibility they established on the pitch. While that label doesn't apply as much anymore, Inter Miami signing not just Messi and Suárez but also Sergio Busquets and Jordi Alba certainly didn't help.
As much as they've surrounded Messi with his friends from Barça, Neymar might be where the Herons would draw a line, assuming they could even make it work under MLS' salary cap system.
The 32-year-old's last appearance in a Saudi Pro League match for Al-Hilal was back in September 2023. He suffered a torn ACL that October on national team duty, and his recovery has been slowed by a series of lesser injuries.
There was a period when Neymar was the brightest young talent in world football. His career has never been the same since he left Barcelona and signed with Paris Saint-Germain in 2017, though. The ACL injury raised even bigger questions about what lies ahead.
As an attraction, Neymar would likely bring Inter Miami and MLS even more attention than they're already receiving. As a sporting endeavor, this wouldn't be a wise investment.
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MLS SuperDraft 2025: Complete Round-by-Round Results and Twitter Reaction
Dec 20, 2024
CHESTER, PA - AUGUST 29: A detail view of the MLS logo prior to the match between the D.C. United and the Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park on August 29, 2020 in Chester, Pennsylvania. The Philadelphia Union defeated D.C. United 4-1. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images)
The best talent in college soccer found out where they'll be playing in the MLS on Friday night.
San Diego FC got the first pick when the MLS SuperDraft started on Friday at 2 p.m. ET.
Ahead of its inaugural 2025 season, San Diego received the first choice of 477 eligible players from 150 schools available in the draft.
The other 29 MLS clubs selected in reverse order of the 2024 standings through three rounds, with reigning champions LA Galaxy originally slated to select last in each round.
After a busy afternoon of drafts and trades, find the complete results of the first 30-team SuperDraft here.
Round 1 Draft Results
1. San Diego: Manu Duah, midfielder, UC Santa Barbara (Generation adidas)
2. San Jose: Max Floriani, defender, Saint Louis
3. Chicago: Dean Boltz, forward, Wisconsin (Generation adidas)
4. Colorado (from SKC): Alex Harris, forward, Cornell (Generation adidas)
5. San Jose (from NE): Reid Roberts, defender, San Francisco
6. Colorado (from NSH): Matthew Senanou, defender, Xavier
7. St. Louis: Emil Jaaskalainen, forward, Akron
8. Kansas City (from COL, from PHI): Jansen Miller, defender, Indiana
9. Charlotte (from SD, from TOR): Mikah Thomas, defender, Connecticut
10. D.C. United: Hakim Karamoko, forward, North Carolina State
23. Toronto (from DC, from ATL): Reid Fisher, defender, San Diego State
24. San Diego (from NYC): Ian Pilcher, defender, UNC Charlotte
25. Minnesota: Roman Torres, midfielder, Creighton
26. Colorado (from VAN, from LAFC): Joshua Copeland, forward, Detroit Mercy
27. Orlando: Joran Gerbet, midfielder, Clemson
28. Seattle: Ryan Baer, midfielder, West Virginia
29. RSL (from RBNY): Lineker Rodrigues Dos Santos, forward, Marshall
30. RSL (from LA): Sergi Solans, forward, Oregon State
San Diego FC kicked off the SuperDraft by selecting midfielder Manu Duah out of UC Santa Barbara.
Because Duah has already signed a Generation adidas contract, he is guaranteed a spot on the San Diego FC roster, at least as a reserve, for three years.
The selection marks the first time in history a UCSB student has gone first overall in a professional draft. Duah earned the honor after impressing as a defensive midfielder in 14 games during his freshman college season.
San Diego FC have selected midfielder Manu Duah from Santa Barbara with the No. 1 overall selection at the 2025 MLS SuperDraft.
Duah signed a Generation adidas deal. The big central midfielder heads to San Diego. pic.twitter.com/rTu4OTXi2Q
Manu Duah played in 14 games for @UCSBMensSoccer this season, played the 90 ten times and helped the Gauchos to six clean sheets! https://t.co/mYn3PhDNrV
The San Jose Earthquakes meanwhile drafted SLU defender Max Floriani with the second pick of the draft. A key part of the St. Louis defense for three seasons, he was the only pre-signed senior in the SuperDraft.
Chicago added Wisconsin forward Dean Boltz with the No. 3 pick, marking the highest draft position in program history. Boltz was named Big Ten Freshman of the Year after scoring 10 goals and adding four assists in his first college season.
Forward Sydney Wathuta and defender Max Murry were selected with back-to-back picks by Colorado and New York City after helping lead Vermont to a national championship.
The 2nd & 3rd First Round @MLS SuperDraft Picks in program history go back-to-back.
The on-going MLS SuperDraft just saw consecutive Catamounts claimed in Sydney Wathuta and Max Murray. Both integral parts of the national championship run. #LetsRallyhttps://t.co/5EVp7dxU2b
46. Orlando (from RSL, from COL): Titus Sandy Jr., defender, Clemson
47. Charlotte: Andrew Johnson, defender, Cornell
48. Houston: Bo Cummins, defender, Wake Forest
49. Salt Lake: Nick Dang, defender, UVA
50. Montréal (from CIN): Caden Grabfelder, forward, Penn State
51. Columbus: Cesar Ruvalcaba, defender, SMU
52. Miami: Bailey Sparks, midfielder, SMU
53. Atlanta: Ronan Wynne, defender, Denver
54. New York City: Collin McCamy, midfielder, Northwestern
55. Minnesota: Logan Dorsey, forward, Kentucky
56. San Diego (from LAFC): Samy Kanaan, forward, San Diego
57. Orlando: Collins Oduro, forward, Indiana
58. Seattle: Demian Alvarez, defender, Seattle
59. RSL (from RBNY): Trace Alphin, goalkeeper, Wake Forest
60. LA: Jacob Woznicki, forward, Hofstra
Real Salt Lake made a series of trades to stock up on SuperDraft picks, including three in the first round and five overall.
RSL has taken several of the top players available in the SuperDraft according to the MLS top prospects by position, including most recent pick Nick Dang, a center back out of Virginia. https://t.co/3BuTrupPDepic.twitter.com/gwlyc0uxQH
