‘MSN reunion? Football is full of surprises’: Neymar hints at revival of famed trio in CNN exclusive as he targets World Cup

Could a revival of one of the most famed trios in world soccer be on the cards?

For three seasons, FC Barcelona’s star-studded frontline of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez and Neymar dominated the club game.

Forging an era of unprecedented success, the iconic “MSN” – as they became known – delivered an incredible 364 goals and 173 assists between them, including a historic treble in their very first season together.

Neymar’s move to Paris Saint-Germain for a world record fee in 2017, however, signaled the end for the vaunted attacking force.

Messi and Suárez remained together for a further three seasons before the Uruguayan left for Atlético Madrid. The duo, though, reunited in 2024 at Inter Miami while the Brazilian currently plies his trade in Saudi Arabia with Al Hilal.

“Obviously, playing again with (Lionel) Messi and (Luis) Suárez would be incredible,” he told CNN Sport after winning the Player Career Award at the recent Globe Soccer Awards in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

“They are my friends. 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.

“When the news came out that I was leaving Paris Saint-Germain, the transfer window was closed in the United States, so I didn’t have this option.

“The project they offered me (in Saudi Arabia) was very good, not just for me but also for my family, so going to Saudi Arabia was the best option.”

‘It’s my last shot’

Suárez will play alongside Messi for at least one more year in the United States after recently agreeing to a one-year contract extension with last season’s Supporters’ Shield winners.

Neymar, meanwhile, is contracted in Saudi Arabia until the summer of 2025.

There is, though, the prospect that all three could be reunited again on US soil in 2026 as they each seek to lead their countries to the biggest prize in world football: the World Cup.

Despite winning the Confederations Cup and Olympic gold, it remains an elusive trophy for the Brazilian and one his country has been desperate to win since its last triumph in 2002.

At his maiden World Cup on home soil in 2014, the forward suffered a tournament ending injury in the quarterfinal before the Seleção endured a historic, humiliating 7-1 loss to Germany.

Four years later, they bowed out in the quarterfinals to Belgium.

Despite equaling Pelé’s official goal tally for the national team, he saw his side bow out of the tournament in Qatar in 2022, this time losing at the same stage on penalties to Croatia.

Brazil has so far struggled in qualifying for the 2026 edition of the tournament.

The team currently lies in fifth position in the South American table with just five wins to its name in 12 qualifying fixtures – only the top six of 10 nations qualify directly for the finals.

Neymar, though, is confident that under the leadership of Dorival Júnior his teammates can navigate the current difficulties and make it to the finals in Canada, the United States and Mexico.

“I have a lot of faith in the team, in the players who are emerging, who are young. It’s a young team,” he says. “Today, we’re not in a position where would like to be.

“I think together we can achieve something very big. We have a year, a year-and-a-half to work, to do the right things to reach the World Cup.”

The 32-year-old’s last appearance in the iconic yellow shirt came in October 2023 when he tore both his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and meniscus in his left knee in a 2-0 loss to Uruguay.

He made his comeback a year later for Al Hilal before picking up a hamstring injury that would him rule him out for a further period of time.

Having missed the first half of the Saudi Pro League this season, the Brazilian is now eager to make up for lost time for both club and country.

Does he think he has what it takes to make it back into the national team fold in time for 2026?

“I will try. I want to be there. I will do everything I can to be part of the National Team,” says the star with 128 caps to his name. “I know this be my last World Cup, my last shot, my last chance and I will do everything I can to play in it.”

Saudi project

The Brazilian’s arrival at Al Hilal in the summer of 2023 followed in the footsteps of global superstars such as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema who joined Al Nassr and Al Ittihad, respectively.

It underlined the country’s heavy investment in sport and the league’s ambition to be one of the top competitions in the world in the next few years.

While game time is something the forward has been hugely short on since joining the Riyadh-based outfit, he agrees with a bold claim made by Ronaldo that the Saudi Pro League had grown so much in stature, superstar status and structure that it has already surpassed France’s Ligue 1.

“Today, I think it is,” asserts the Brazilian. “The level of the Saudi Pro League is increasing and, from what I see, it’s better than Ligue 1. Ligue 1 has its positives. The league is very strong. I played in it, so I know this well.

“Today (though), the players in the Saudi Pro League are better. Saudi Arabia has surprised me in a positive way. The people, the country, the cities, the culture. I think it’s a country that’s continually growing. It will also host the World Cup in 2034, which I think will be incredible.”

‘I was a boy. Today, I’m a man’

Although the Brazilian has experienced several milestone moments in his career, from winning the biggest trophies in European soccer to becoming his country’s all-time record goalscorer, questions have often been asked as to whether the forward has fulfilled the potential that came when he first burst onto the global stage with Santos.

With Al Hilal challenging at the top of the Saudi Pro League and in the AFC Champions League elite, a Club World Cup awaiting this summer and a possible World Cup appearance on the horizon in 2026, the forward still has plenty of trophies to play for in his career.

So does he believe he’s achieved what he’s wanted to in the game? “Many things have changed. I was a boy. Today, I’m a man. Today, I have a family. I have my sons.

“Over the years, I’ve been learning a lot, I’ve experienced a lot of difficulties, but I’ve managed to overcome all of them,” he tells CNN. “I’ve achieved much more than I could’ve hoped for.

“I’m very happy with my career, with the things I’ve done, where I’ve played. Obviously, you think about what you could’ve done here and there, but it’s all part of football. You’re never going to win all the trophies. I’m very happy with everything I’ve done to date.”

For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com