Brazilian soccer star Neymar has purchased a piece of waterfront land in Miami for $26 million amid speculation he may be joining the Major League Soccer team Inter Miami CF, according to sources familiar with the deal.

Located in the tony, gated village of Bal Harbour, the vacant lot is about 0.63 acre with 150 feet of frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway, property records show. The offering includes approved plans for a 13,000-square-foot house designed by the London-based design firm Elicyon. The property was most recently listed for $28.5 million, according to Zillow.

According to property records, the seller is Bent Philipson, founder of Philosophy Care, a consulting firm for skilled-nursing facilities in New York and New Jersey.

If Neymar, who currently plays for the Saudi Pro League club Al Hilal, were to join Inter Miami, he would reunite with former FC Barcelona teammates Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez.

Bent Philipson and his wife, Deborah Philipson, purchased the property with an older home on it for $9.3 million in 2020, records show, and demolished the house. They first listed the vacant land for $30 million in 2021. Deborah Philipson died in 2022. In 2022, New York Attorney General Letitia James sued a Long Island nursing home and its owners, including Bent Philipson, for fraud and resident neglect. The case is ongoing.

Bento Queiroz of Compass, who represented the buyer, declined to comment on his client’s identity but said he was drawn to the privacy and security of the gated community, as well as the size of the property. “It came together rather quickly once we found the opportunity,” he said. “The buyer said, ‘it’s exactly what I’m looking for.’”

Queiroz said Miami’s luxury market is “firm and steady,” with a lack of turnkey properties driving up prices for waterfront properties. An assemblage on La Gorce Island recently sold for $100 million. A waterfront compound in Coconut Grove is currently asking $135 million.