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Henry set to sign with Red Bulls

Thierry Henry 1 (Getty Images) 

Barcelona foward Thierry Henry looks to finally be headed to MLS, and the team he appears set to join should come as no surprise.

Henry, who has fallen out of favor at Barcelona, has agreed to a pre-contract deal with the New York Red Bulls for as long as three weeks now, according to SI.com. The French international will join the Red Bulls after the World Cup pending some compensation from New York, as Henry still has one more year under contract with the Spanish champions.

If all of the wrinkles are ironed out and Henry does finally make his move to MLS, he would join forward Juan Pablo Angel to form arguably the most talented pair of strikers in the league.

What do you think of Henry joining the Red Bulls? Think he and Angel are going to rip defenses apart? Are Red Bulls the favorite to lift the MLS Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. “If all of the wrinkles are ironed out and Henry does finally make his move to MLS, he would join forward Juan Pablo Angel to form arguably the most talented pair of strikers in the league.”

    Actually, I think that would be pretty inarguable.

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  2. None of it matters. Delagarza (or Franklin or Jordan), oh oh Omar, berghalter, dunivant, and ricketts shuts down the new nyrb dp and galaxy goes to 14-2-4 with their 3-1 romp at the new stadium in ny.

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  3. Great news for MLS and NYRB. NYRB shouldn’t waste his talents so they need to upgrade midfield before he arrives, Stammler, Lindpere, Richards won’t do. The relegated, Feilhaber might help?

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  4. Please don’t tell me an 80% increase is satisfactory to the fans or the organization. I guarantee you that the front office is concerned.

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  5. Great for the League! From a selfish American point-of-view . . .Imagine the education that young americans in the league are going to get from training with a player like titi. Immediate infusion of European mentality. Give our young guys a sample of the big leagues!

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  6. I wish I could take your assurance as a fact, sir. Adding the third DP would be absolutely monumental for the league, sport, country….you name it. Ronaldinho and Henry pairing up for golazos…and JPA sneaking in an occasional crashing header off a cross…geez

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  7. lol. Actually, I was hyped for that. But Lothar disappointed–his approach to the whole MLS thing. Hoping for much better with Henry. I would hope he has a bit more pride, and that his connections with celebrities (mentioned in a reply above) will spur him on to produce. Lothar . . . that guy is a bit full of himself.

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  8. One of the biggest problems for Angel has been touched on here: the inability for the midfield to bring the ball forward.

    Angel has an AMAZING first touch and an excellent ability to get “lost” in the defense. Speed is not where his opportunities come from.

    This year he has had to track back into the midfield to get the ball and help them bring it forward. That leaves him (a) not in the box where he should be as a pure striker and (b) much more exhausted from the extra running back and forth.

    Having Henry will certainly help pull the defense away from focusing just on him and allow him to be even better at getting lost among them, however he still needs service in the box.

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  9. RBNY & MLS should hope that LeBron signs before this they announce this officially.They need to make this announement when they can capture the NYPRESS headlines by themselves

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  10. you clarification is helpful, especially your contrasting the two at the time of their departure from their respective La Liga clubs.

    I do have some caveats to full acceptance of your declaration that Henry’s move is bigger:

    Beckham has by far more media presence and world popularity. (especially comparing then and now). Not taking away from Henry’s large profile. Henry especially might pull more weight with the soccer aficionado. But Beckham would make the bigger world splash.

    That said, Henry has the potential to have as great an impact, but in a different way (maybe, as I ponder this, I want to agree with you that his impact could be greater than Beck’s impact albeit for different reasons). Here are some thoughts:

    –New York is just waiting to be an esteemed soccer franchise–in MLS, in NYC’s eyes, and beyond. Henry’s presence makes them instantly more viable (and we still get a 3rd DP option) and they have the potential to get out of mediocrity forever

    –Becks was the paradigm shifter, but Henry can add momentum that suffered under Beck’s injuries and equivocations. And NYC gives him a major media presence–if he does well as a player and the team achieves consistent success. If he stays and does well, a move to MLS will seem less and less a novelty

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  11. NASL didn’t have a salary cap which is a big difference. Who are these players we should have pay more money than Norway. Freeman, Goodson

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  12. @ DC Josh. Hate to break it to you but we play NYRB 5 days to early. The window doesn’t open until July 15th. We play them on the 10th. We will get to see the Swiss international Nkafu when Seattle comes on the 18th.

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  13. Washed up has beens and never weres???? Henry played for BARCELONA, the BEST team in the world THIS season! Yeah, he might not be what he used to be… but he will still be the best forward in MLS, so why not sign him?

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  14. 170 in 250 is a good rate, but you have to look between the lines. I’m sure he scorched the minnows, but when it came to scrappy teams live Everton and Bolton at the least, I’m sure it was different.

    I’m not saying he isn’t an excellent player, it’s just a different kettle of fish over here.

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  15. Henry has dealt with getting hacked his whole career. If anything, he’d break Marshall’s ankles from cuttin him up.

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  16. Even as a DC fan, I’d love to see Ze Roberto over here in some fashion. One of my favorite players of the last few years.

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  17. I have friends who’ll come out just to see him. And unlike a few other DPs, Henry still has a good solid few years to go and with little injury scares.

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  18. Great news. Now all they need to do is arrange for Ze Roberto to come along as well. Those two would add 5K in attendance not to mention a few goals.

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  19. I don’t necessarily think he is washed up; there is no denying his importance to the Galaxy or the our league. But, the overall perception I got from writers in Europe (from the things I read on the net) was that he was making the move because Europe was getting tired of him.

    Quite the contrary, I feel that his loan deal to Milan well refuted that idea, and prior to his freak injury with them, he had re-established himself as an important player for his clubs and his country (or at least they expected).

    I just feel that the overall opinion on Henry is somewhat higher than it was for Beckham when he made his move. From what I recall, Henry had been speculated as recently as this summer window as going to some huge clubs from Barca, which is something I hadn’t heard about from Becks. So, in my opinion, Henry’s move is bigger for our league than Beckham’s, because I think his current value is higher than Beckham’s was when he came (despite his recent La Liga title).

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  20. RBNY Should have picked him up as soon as Fire released him. I think that non-action on the teams part I find more surprising that not signing DVB

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  21. I think there is another ancillary marketing benefit to this. Henry is buddies with a few NBA guys so we might get some celebrity butts in the stands that would attract the attention of some (but not the Chicago Tribune’s) sports pages.

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  22. Sorry Bro. Not trying to call you out Zach but we have heard this before. Matheus. Hugo Sanchez. Yuri Djorkaeff. Or Gullit with his failed coaching stint in LA.

    Beckham is still bigger than Henry when it comes to internationally celebrated guys cashing an MLS paycheck.

    Seriously, I don’t see this opening any floodgates. I really don’t Maybe a couple more guys will come. And then they will make demands to be in NY, LA or Chicago because those cities are so “sexy”.

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  23. If you don’t think that half the clubs in the EPL wouldn’t offer him a contract tomorrow, you’re insane. Falling out of favor with the best club in the world (and yes, that is exactly what Barca is right now) does not exactly mean you’re ready for mothballs.

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  24. Yeah that’s why he scored what 170 goals in 250 games with Arsenal, those EPL tough guys pushed him around SOOO much.

    And sure it’s easier to score with barcelona’s talent setting you up, but 36 goals last year is….how many more than (fill in your favorite MLS striker here)?

    Henry will do fine, he’s been prepping for this for years and now it’s showtime.

    I do think more will follow Henry’s lead, though it woun’t qualify as flood, due to MLS limitations.

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  25. This signing is about butts in the seats. If Henry can’t fill Red Bull Arena, that will be a shame.

    He’s a lot better than Angel, and the two of them together should result in lots of goals. Better service will be an issue, but one of the things that differentiate the world class strikers from the chattel is that they finish their chances. He’ll get chances and his finish rate will simply be much higher than the typical MLS striker.
    I’m seeing a Galaxy-Red Bulls final, with a lot of star power. This is great for MLS, esp. if it finally entices the NY crowd to support the league.

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  26. I worked in the old North American Soccer Leauge. MLS is now going down the same misguided path.

    We have Americans playing pro soccer in Norway because the money is better, and MLS is signing the likes of Henry? MLS needs to be a domestic league, made up of a majority of USA born players. But, we need to pay them a decent wage. Norway?

    Stop wasting money on washed up has beens and never weres.

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  27. True. He’s only a cheat because he wasn’t caught. If the ref saw and blew, no one would say anything about it. It’s the ref’s burden. Players will always use their hands and it’s the ref’s responsibility to catch it. If people call Henry a cheat,they should go after every player who has ever handled, or fouled for that matter(because fouling is against the rules) and call them a cheat too. Boateng is a cheat, Altidore is a cheat, Ronaldo is a cheat, etc. Give the guy a break.

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