Neymar may have accidentally scuppered any chance he had of playing his football in the MLS after the Major League Soccer commissioner responded to the forward's recent comments in angry fashion.
The Paris Saint-Germain star's club future is often the subject of intense speculation and the rumour mill went into overdrive after his latest comments over where and when he sees himself ending his career.
Speaking on the Fenomenos podcast, the 30-year-old admitted his desire to play his football across the Atlantic at some point.
"I'd love to play in the MLS actually," he explained. "I'd love to play there at least for a season."
However, Neymar also jokingly confessed part of his motivation behind any move to the USA would be partly inspired by their lengthier off-season period which has appeared to have angered high ranking MLS official Don Garber.
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The former Barcelona star continued: "I’d like to play there for at least one season. For Brazil, sometimes I want to, others I don’t.
"The main reason for me to play in MLS is that the season is short, so it would give me three months of vacation. That way, I could play for a few more years," he laughed.
"I joke with my friends that I will retire when I'm 32, but it's just a joke - I don't know."
Garber took objection to the implication that Neymar views the MLS as a division players go to when they want to unwind and see out the latter days of their playing careers.
"We don’t need to bring in big names at the end of their careers because they’ve decided to retire in MLS," Garber responded.
"If they don’t want to come to play and make a significant contribution to the league, respecting the league and the fans, we don’t want them.
"When Zlatan [Ibrahimovic] left, nobody said he was going to Italy to retire there."
Garber went to explain how he took Neymar's assessment of the MLS as an insult while also praising the influence of Ibrahamovic from his time with the LA Galaxy.
"Honestly, I felt insulted… [Ibrahimovic] worked hard in MLS and does so in Serie A. I don’t really understand why we are seen differently but that’s how it is."
Neymar's former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez is also rumoured to be exploring the idea of moving to America at the end of his current Atletico Madrid contract.
Speaking to ESPN , via Spanish outlet AS, Suarez described playing in America as a "very good option".
"If I return to any team from South America at 36 or 37 years of age, people will expect me to play like I did in my late twenties," the Uruguayan said.
However, he went on to make the kind of comments that annoyed Garber when they came from Neymar's mouth.
"So if I can’t play at the highest level, I rather avoid unnecessary criticism if I don’t run enough or can’t score the same amount of goals as I did in Europe.
"I want to play somewhere I am happy and comfortable. Also I want to play in a league where I can still perform and keep enjoying playing soccer.
"So I don’t think I will return to South America, but the United States or Asia are very good options when I turn 37."
Down the years, the MLS has undeniably seen an influx of huge names in European football join the division towards the twilight of their careers.
The trend first started when David Beckham joined LA Galaxy in 2007 from Spanish giants Real Madrid.
England international duo Frank Lampard and Steven Gerrard both saw their final action in club football come Stateside for New York City FC and LA Galaxy respectively.
Arsenal legend Thierry Henry spent four years with the New York Red Bulls and helped the club win their first major trophy for 17 years in the process.
America's top flight has even played host to a former Ballon d'Or winner in ex-Real Madrid playmaker Kaka.
A former international teammate of Neymar's, Kaka spent three years at Orlando City before ex-Manchester United winger Nani made the same switch in 2019.
