On the heels of Lionel Messi’s enormous commercial success in Miami, MLS teams have been making more of a push to acquire some of the bigger names in the sport.
Marco Reus (LA Galaxy), Hugo Lloris (LAFC), Thomas Müller (Vancouver), Wilfried Zaha (Charlotte), Son Heung-min (LAFC), Rodrigo De Paul (Miami), James Rodríguez (Minnesota), Timo Werner (San Jose) and Antoine Griezmann (Orlando City) are some of the players who have arrived — or, in the case of Griezmann, is due to arrive this summer — in MLS in recent years.
From a global popularity perspective, one additional name would likely eclipse all but Messi: Liverpool star Mohamed Salah. And MLS, as it casts an eye on big post-World Cup transfer business, would very much like to see the winger come to one of its teams.
If Salah, who will be leaving Liverpool after this season, makes a move to MLS, his most likely destination remains San Diego FC — but there is a lot to overcome for a deal to come to fruition.
League executives have told multiple teams that Salah is not “discoverable” — meaning he is exempt from the league’s discovery process that gives clubs the first right of refusal to negotiate with specific players – three sources not authorized to speak on the matter told The Athletic, as MLS allows San Diego some runway to speak to the Egyptian winger and his representatives.
San Diego is owned by Egyptian-British billionaire Mohamed Mansour.
Sources said that MLS is anticipating Salah will receive a massive financial offer from the Saudi Pro League. Reports indicate that Cristiano Ronaldo’s club, Al Nassr, is preparing to make a move for him.
San Diego is unlikely to match the salary offer, but could be open to a similar arrangement as has been used in deals for David Beckham and Messi, where the players received an ownership percentage as part of the deal. Beckham’s contract famously included the option to purchase an MLS expansion team, which became Inter Miami. Messi’s deal included a percentage ownership of Inter Miami, which triggers upon retirement.
San Diego could include something like a percentage ownership in Right to Dream Egypt as part of its package to lure the Egyptian superstar. The Mansour Group invested $120 million to acquire Right to Dream, which has academies in Africa, the U.S. and in Denmark and built an academy in West Cairo.
Mansour has declined to comment publicly on whether San Diego is actively pursuing Salah.
“He’s probably one of the great players today. And any team that will get him, or any country that will get him, he will definitely be an asset,” Mansour said at last month’s SBJ Business of Soccer event in Atlanta, according to the AFP. “Of course Mo Salah is somebody that, as an Egyptian, my origin, I’m very proud of. He is somebody that reached the world stage as one of the great players. And I think he will, if he does decide … wherever he will go, he will add a lot to that league and to that country and to that team for sure. So he’s somebody I’m very proud of.”
MLS commissioner Don Garber has made it clear that he would like to see an MLS team acquire Salah.
“I couldn’t say that until he announced that he was leaving Liverpool,” Garber said recently. “But what a great player he would be in MLS. And I think we would provide him with a great platform.”
San Diego would likely have some roster and lineup shuffling to do if it were able to get a deal over the line with Salah. The Liverpool winger plays essentially the same role as San Diego winger Anders Dreyer, the Danish national team player who was an MLS Best XI selection last year with 19 goals and 19 assists.
San Diego also remains locked in a dispute with Mexican star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano. The designated player was told he will not play at San Diego this season, but declined any moves in the primary transfer window. Signing Salah would almost certainly have to be predicated by a deal that moves Lozano and his $7.63 million in guaranteed compensation.
As for some of the other major names linked to MLS and its clubs this summer:
Neymar’s camp and FC Cincinnati have been engaged in talks (Ricardo Moreira / Getty Images)
Neymar
Talks between FC Cincinnati and Neymar’s camp, as first reported by The Athletic two weeks ago, continue and are progressing, sources briefed on the situation say.
Neymar has started and played 90 minutes in each of the last five Santos games he was available for, proving fitness as he hopes to convince Carlo Ancelotti to include him in Brazil’s World Cup squad.
“I honestly don’t know,” Neymar told media in Brazil when asked about FC Cincinnati and if he could leave in the summer.
The 34-year-old has four goals and three assists in 854 minutes across all competitions this season. He had 11 goals and four assists in just over 2,000 minutes last year.
If a move were to materialize for the summer rather than next winter, when Neymar’s contract with Santos expires, Cincy would have to open up a slot on its roster by offloading one of its top earners. The club has three designated players — Evander, Kévin Denkey and Miles Robinson — all of whom are under contract and cannot be bought down below a DP charge.
Denkey had concrete interest from European clubs this winter, but Cincy would only engage in talks if bids significantly passed $20 million, sources told The Athletic. Real Betis were among the clubs to reach out, sources added. Denkey joined for a club-record $16.1 million fee ahead of the 2025 MLS season.
Casemiro has two of MLS’s marquee franchises trying to lure him to the U.S. (Carl Recine / Getty Images)
Casemiro
Both Inter Miami and the LA Galaxy are in discussions to sign the Brazil captain, sources said.
The Galaxy hold Casemiro’s discovery rights and thus sit in pole position to sign the Manchester United midfielder, whose contract expires in June. Despite that, Inter Miami has continued its push to add Casemiro to its star-studded roster.
The discovery rule was created to ensure that only one MLS club negotiated with a player at any one time. Players sign their deals with MLS, not the individual club, and thus the league wanted to prevent multiple teams from negotiating against each other and driving up the price. If multiple teams put in a discovery claim on a player, there is a resolution process that requires teams to prove they are willing and able to sign the player. The Galaxy have demonstrated the ability to do so.
Both Miami and LA would likely need to do some salary cap gymnastics to make a deal work, as neither has an open designated player spot to sign Casemiro. There is plenty of precedent with non-guaranteed option years that have allowed teams to make deals work, both with the Galaxy (Zlatan Ibrahimović signed a one-year deal as a targeted allocation money player before signing a new deal as a DP) and Miami (Jordi Alba and De Paul both signed as TAM players with options or new deals triggered that made them DPs in later years in their contract). Vancouver did the same with Müller, before he became a DP in 2026.
Robert Lewandowski has been linked to Chicago, which boasts a significant Polish population (Aitor Alcalde / Getty Images)
Robert Lewandowski
The Chicago Fire made a big push to woo Polish star Robert Lewandowski earlier this year, but sources said it’s unlikely the Barcelona striker comes to the Windy City, as the Fire’s priorities have shifted.
Discussions between Lewandowski and Chicago ebbed and flowed, especially as the legendary forward’s form looked strong enough to entice a contract renewal at Barcelona. Poland since failed to qualify for the World Cup, though, and Lewandowski’s goal-scoring form dipped some at the club level. He has just four goals in La Liga in the 2026 calendar year, though he netted four times in Champions League, and his future at the Spanish club now looks less clear. Reports indicate he could stay in Spain at a reduced salary and as a reserve striker. The forward, who will turn 38 in August, also has suitors in Serie A.
“I don’t know,” Lewandowski told The Athletic last month when asked about staying at Camp Nou. “Because I have to feel it. For now, I cannot tell you nothing (about what I will decide), because I’m not even 50 percent sure which way I want to go. It’s not for this moment.”
Chicago, meanwhile, sits in fourth place in MLS’s Eastern Conference with 14 points and forward Hugo Cuypers is a big reason why. The Belgian striker has six goals in five games this season, starting off strong after netting 17 times in 2025.
Cuypers’ contract runs through the end of this season with an option for 2027. Sources said multiple MLS teams have shown an interest in signing the striker from Chicago if it looks to move him.
Bernardo Silva should have plenty of suitors after declaring he would be leaving Manchester City (Carl Recine / Getty Images)
Bernardo Silva
The Portugal international midfielder will leave Manchester City this summer and has no shortage of top-level suitors, leaving it unlikely a switch to MLS comes upon his City departure.
NYCFC would love to sign him, but sources believe the player is not focused on MLS at this juncture. NYCFC and Manchester City are both owned by City Football Group, leading to a natural connection.
Silva, 31, would immediately become one of the league’s best players, and he figures to be a key figure for Portugal’s World Cup hopes this summer.
NYCFC will open a new stadium in the summer of 2027 and could add a DP if it wanted to. The club hasn’t had a true global star since the era of David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo in the 2010s.
