Chicago Fire, Neymar in preliminary negotiations, multiple reports say

Chicago Fire FC is engaged in “preliminary negotiations” with Brazil soccer legend Neymar, according to multiple reports.

Neymar holds the record for most goals scored for Brazil in international competition, and has become a worldwide phenomenon during his stints with Barcelona and Paris St. Germaine, winning a combined seven domestic titles with the two legendary clubs.

Currently, Neymar is under contract with Al-Hilal of the Saudi Pro League, but only appeared in three matches last season due to a variety of injuries.

Now, with his contract reportedly up at the conclusion of the 2024-25 season, Neymar has a choice to make on his next pro team, and the Fire are one of the teams that’s reportedly in pursuit of his services.

According to Give Me Sport’s Tom Bogert and Ben Jacobs, the Fire have what are called “Discovery Rights” for Neymar, meaning they have first priority to sign him should they have the opportunity to do so.

Under MLS rules, the “Discovery List” allows clubs to identify up to five players that are not under MLS contracts and who aren’t eligible for the MLS SuperDraft and other acquisition mechanisms. Players can be added and removed from those lists at any time.

Other teams can sign the player after offering the Fire $50,000 in General Allocation Money. The Fire can reject that, but would then have to make what MLS considers a “genuine, objectively reasonable offer.”

While Give Me Sport reports that the Fire are the only MLS club in active negotiations with Neymar, ESPN’s Jeff Carlisle says there are at least two other teams in conversations with the Brazilian star.

While Neymar has previously expressed desire to play with Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez, both of whom are under contract with Inter Miami, reports indicate that the team does not have an open “Designated Player” slot to offer him, leaving them currently unable to bid for his services.

Under MLS rules, the “Designated Player” rule holds that clubs can acquire up to three players whose compensation and acquisition costs exceed the league’s “Maximum Salary Budget Charge.”

The Fire will likely have to compete with teams from other leagues around the world for Neymar, but the deal would be considered the largest in team history, dwarfing the 2017 acquisition of German legend Bastian Schweinsteiger.

The Fire have not qualified for the MLS playoffs since the 2017 season, finishing 15^th in the Eastern Conference with a record of 7-18-9 on the season in 2024.

As a result, the team made serious changes to its operations in the offseason, hiring former United States men’s national team head coach Gregg Berhalter to lead the club in 2025.

 In addition, the team is also looking to potentially build a privately financed stadium within the city of Chicago, with Crain’s Chicago reporting that the stadium could be built at The 78 in the South Loop, where the White Sox are also considering building a stadium, or in the Lincoln Yards development.