Everybody's favorite international star-to-MLS rumor re-appeared over the weekend, and while nothing has really changed with regard to the long-discussed potential THierry Henry to New York Red Bull rumor, it still managed to resurface and create a little more buzz.
This time around it was the Daily Mail with a story on how Henry is set to pass on a move to Manchester City in order to join the Red Bulls after the 2010 World Cup. It is a fascinating idea and promising story, except for the fact that the story itself offers little to support the rumor.
This is the 'meat' in the story:
"Henry fancies a new challenge to end his illustrious career and MLS side New York Red Bulls are strongly tipped to be his destination, with the 32-year-old Barcelona star excited at the prospect of living in another of the world's great cities."
For those wondering, ""strongly tipped" is English tabloid code for "rumored" which means that, yes, this story is nothing more than a rehash of what we have heard for a long time, that Henry wants to play in New York. Fortunately for American fans, all it takes is one flimsy UK report to turn into "reports out of Europe", which then becomes "Henry heading to New York".
In short, the story is a weak one, and while the author is actually one of the Mail's main soccer writers, he is also someone who doesn't exactly specialize in transfer speculation.
Joe Bernstein's four biggest transfer-related stories (make that his only transfer-related stories) from the summer to now were the following: Rafael van Der Vaart to Arsenal, Sergio Aguero to Manchester United, Ashley Young to Tottenham and Peter Crouch to Sunderland OR Fulham. No, that's not exactly a good success percentage. That's not to mention his story on how Tottenham was set to beat out Liverpool for Glen Johnson, or the one about Gareth Barry joining Liverpool if Rafa Benitez could sell Xabi Alonso.
So yes, Henry very well could be the marquee player Red Bull lands to help fill Red Bull Arena this summer, a move we have called for more than a year now, but the story that surfaced from the weekend wasn't evidence that a move is in the works as much as it is a sign that the popular rumor is still reaching people who hadn't heard it yet.
What do you think of Henry joining the Red Bulls? Hoping he arrives in MLS in the summer of 2010, or do you think it is unlikely that FC Barcelona lets him leave?
Share your thoughts below.
Already bought my season tix to Red Bull Arena. If they bring us Henry, I won’t have a reason to regret it. Angel and Henry would own MLS.
i hope that this rumor leads to something… i would definitely watch every red bulls game i could if he came. him and juan pablo could be devastating
Even tho i’m a Galaxy fan, i’m still thrilled at the thought of Henry comin to MLS
Yes + a center mid + a center back!
I don’t see Henry going to MLS until 2012 after the Euro, and then I could see him come with a package that turns him into a manager.
Henry said he would return to Arsenal at some point.. I’m thinking some sort of coaching role, not playing time. I doubt Arsene would splash any type of cash for Henry either even if he was able to. Henry could either go for some other type of big money move and stay in Europe or go for a new challenge. He’s won the lot of trophies with Barca and Arsenal.
angel extended his contract thru the 2010 season is it possible to see him and henry up front together? im a gunner at heart and to see one of the best london fowards play in harrison,nj would be amazing!!!
let the NY jealousy begin. sure we have a silly name but a marquee stadium in the biggest market in the world and ownership that want to take it to the next level. Doesnt get much better than that.
Posted by: afrim | October 19, 2009 at 02:04 PM
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That’s a serious case of ” male-PE ” and you might want to consult a physician, asap. That can be treated…
Back to reality:
Rumor or not, I think there’s a strong bet that Henry will make the jump after the WC…if he can subside the competitor/flame that I’m sure still resides within him to play at the highest level, in Europe.
It’d be great if the league allowed DPs to not count against the salary cap. Lets individual owners influence a bit as they can choose to spend the money or not to make their teams better, and opens up a lot of many to reward the MLS middle class and the developmental players.
I’m a Red Bull fan, and I’d like to see Henry play here with Angel. Team would also need someone to get the ball to them, but with all the draft picks and allocations the team will has/will receive, they should be able to package something up for some MLS guys to fulfill that need.
Wow. Not only will this be his most ambitious move in his career, but probably the most ambitious move for any sports star.
To turn around the NJ-based MLS team in coordination with Red Bull would be one of the greatest success stories in the history of playful competition. Simply winning under Red Bull is revolutionary.
Unless he brings Barcelona management along with him (whatever happened to that rumor?), I’d expect little-to-no on-field success.
CFKAmetro – what was the 1st seat filling publicity move because I missed it
let the NY jealousy begin. sure we have a silly name but a marquee stadium in the biggest market in the world and ownership that want to take it to the next level. Doesnt get much better than that.
Posted by: afrim | October 19, 2009 at 02:04 PM
hahahahaha. Except that NYRB plays the worst soccer in MLS, spent the bulk of the season with a coach who was up in the night and paid way too much for foreigners that weren’t worth 1/2 of what they were being paid. As an RSL supporter I’ve dealt with my fair share of frustration as a soccer fan, but you can have the red bras.
That said, I hope Henry comes to the MLS so I can see him play in person one more time!
Like the song by the Beatles….”Let it be”…….
Didnt Henry say he wanted to go back to Arsenal to finish his career?
let the NY jealousy begin. sure we have a silly name but a marquee stadium in the biggest market in the world and ownership that want to take it to the next level. Doesnt get much better than that.
I like your assessment of the source. That was pretty funny.
Seems like there should be more of that kind of reporting happening in the world in general. 🙂
I wonder if MLS is going to proactively pump up NY as they have done with LA the last year or so. If so, I would expect a Beasley type acquisition for the Bulls in addition to a Henry. I am not a NYRB fan by any strecth but there would be worse things. Parity sucks.
Henry to NEW JERSEY would make me buy like 10 season tickets. He’s done the Chinatown thing twice now, and always says good things about New York City. I honestly believe that he wants to live in New York regardless… Hopefully before he retires 😀
Red Bull, and NYRB… if they were smart, and wanted to put their team on the map, should make Titi a priority.
New stadium + Henry would make me forget about this horrendous season.
Henry is pretty much my favorite player ever and I would love to see him play in MLS, but as a DCU fan it would cause me no end of heartache to have to root against him…
Is he left-footed. Otherwise, Red Bull should have no use for him.
I’m an American living in the UK and the Daily Mail is as reliable as fox news. ANY CONSERVATIVES READING THIS POST (FOX NEWS IS NOT RELIABLE)
that would be incredible, but if his contract is up at 2011 then I would not take much time to think about it until then..
just to add two more completely unsourced or illegitimate rumors in 2011 Seattle and Vancouver will be looking to drop some cash in to a big player like Henry, and I sure that he would enjoy two of the most quality cities in North America. think Nash could sway his buddy to the Whitecaps?
I can’t help but feel that acquisition of Henry would just be another in a long line of publicity-oriented seat-filling moves by Metro/RB, without regard to the effect it would have on the field.
That said, it would be crazy not to get him to NY if possible.
First to worst to first? 🙂
this just in
every player in Europe that is out of contract soon is rumored to be “thinking” about their offer from LA or New York.
So says their agents.
I have read reports that his contract is not up until 2011 so I don’t see MLS/Red Bulls coughing up the transfer fee next summer. Maybe in January 2011 if they want to start that season with him
The Man City aspect of the rumor is laughable because any football fan with a mildly functioning brain knows that Henry is loyal to Arsenal and would never join another EPL side.
I like the idea of Henry to Red Bulls. They could use him as a defender and play Carlos Johnson up top.
Lee Nguyen should come to MLS. is he still playing in Vietnam? last i read he was doing well there and getting looks from teams back in Europe.
Ives, care to share any knowledge you may have of this?
henry will be playing in new york. its just a matter of when.
if he does sign for next season that would be absolutely fantastic with him and Angel up front. dear god.
That would be cool, although if I could get an attacking midfielder at a similar talent level and/or a bit younger, I would rather do that.
My NYRB wish list:
– Sal Zizzo
– Juan Roman Riquelme(DP)(rather than Henry)
– Lee Nguyen
– Michael Parkhurst
– Damarcus Beasley
Can’t wait 2 days from now when ESPN Soccernet picks it up and passes it off as their own…
This is the best rumor ever!
Having said that, in England even “real” newspapers make up whatever they want to say, and they often publish complete and total lies as front page “news.” DC Josh, can’t tell if you’re joking or not…I assume you are. No one could be stupid enough to ask if anyone is taking a dig at anyone related to footballing news in the UK, considering it’s 95% completely fabricated.
ETJ really? You still don’t get why a player would want to make millions playing in Earth’s marquee city? Really? The team was horrible this year, but they are one season removed from playing for the league trophy. Really? And you couldn’t come up with a better zing than the guy must really like New York? Go back to bed man, seriously.
It wouldn’t suprise me to see him come after this season if France doesn’t make the World Cup. Why else would he stay in Europe if he really wants to come to New York? He has won everything imaginable.
Wow Ives was that a stab at Bernstein? I’d love to see a marquee reporter-bout featuring two heavyweights.
Henry/Angel would be an unbelievable tandem, although they both play similar styles. Imagine if the energy drinks still had Jozy:
—Henry—-Jozy—-Angel—
That would hurt for any back line.
(SBI-Bernstein’s a good writer, but his track record when it comes to transfer rumors is pretty awful and I thought it help put the Henry story in better context.)
I would, without question, get on a plane next year with my son to see Henry play in the new stadium.
Henry to MLS (NY) will happen at some point.
Henry must like New York City A LOT if he is going to play with the red bulls so he can be there…
I would welcome him with open arms
“SBI-And why not?”
Two strikers as DPs? I find that doubtful.
Or, maybe I should amend that – I would find that stupid, not doubtful. Spending the vast majority of your resources on two players in the same position? Dumb. But NYRB could surely be stupid.
(SBI-It’s much easier to find reasonably-priced players to play in central defense and midfield who can produce than it is to find reasonably-priced strikers who produce. Call it dumb if you want but Henry and Angel together would be pretty nasty.)
Season tickets will be a lot easier to purchase if Henry is going to be on the pitch.
Sport.es, a catalan paper, is reporting the same.
First things first – is Angel definately not going to be resigned? Because obviously if they resign Angel, there’s no way they could also take on Henry.
(SBI-And why not? Even under the current rules they can fit two DPs on their books (Pietravallo and Rojas contracts alone would cover the second DP slot). That said, MLS is rumored to be considering not counting DP slots against the cap, which would make it even more likely the Red Bulls sign two DPs.)