Neymar reacts to Lionel Messi's move to MLS, Inter Miami

Paris Saint-Germain star Neymar sounds optimistic that longtime teammate Lionel Messi will be a massive positive for Major League Soccer and Inter Miami. 

"I'm certain that Leo is going to change the league in the United States," Neymar recently said, via Adriana Garcia of ESPN. "I believe the league will become a lot more popular. So everyone has to take advantage and enjoy watching him play because unfortunately, nothing lasts forever."

Messi, who played alongside Neymar at Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, confirmed last week that he intends to officially join Inter Miami once his PSG contract expires at the end of this month. The seven-time Ballon d'Or winner, who turns 36 years old on June 24, reportedly had an offer on the table worth anywhere from around $400M annually to $541M per year to join Saudi club Al-Hilal but rejected that move. He also passed on a potential return to Barcelona in favor of signing with the MLS side, largely because Barcelona couldn't currently register Messi due to financial fair play limitations.

"I'm sad and happy at the same time," Neymar continued about Messi's latest career decision. "I already knew. Messi is one of my best friends, a gift that soccer has given me. I had the opportunity to get to know him, to play with him and then, to build a beautiful friendship. So, I knew that he wanted to come here [Miami], and we spoke about it. I told him he was going to be very happy in the city, because of the style of life, the opportunity to come to live and play here in Miami."

Interestingly, James Benge of CBS Sports reported over the weekend that Al-Hilal are targeting Neymar after missing out on Messi. Benge noted that Neymar could obtain a deal similar to what Cristiano Ronaldo received to join Saudi Arabian club Al-Nassr late last year and that Al-Hilal could pay Paris Saint-Germain a transfer fee "in the region of €45M" to acquire the 31-year-old Brazilian playmaker.  

According to Reuters (h/t ESPN), Ronaldo is making "more than €200M ($219.98M)" per year in Saudi Arabia, including commercial and sponsorship agreements.