[COLOR=#red]'Zero chance' Henry returns to Red Bulls; Club's owners losing interest[/COLOR]
One of the big questions facing the New York Red Bulls is Thierry Henry: Will the most accomplished player in MLS history extend his contract with New York after it runs out at the end of this calendar year? Well, Red Bull soccer boss Gérard Houllier hinted at things over the summer when he said that he didn't think Henry would extend with New York, and a source with knowledge of Red Bull’s plans now tells SI.com there is “zero chance” that Henry will sign an extension. (That doesn’t necessarily mean that Henry will retire, however.)
Part of the reason is Red Bull has dramatically reduced its investment in New York as Red Bull’s global profits have declined, and its soccer interest has shifted toward its teams in Europe. The Red Bulls didn’t spend to acquire a third Designated Player during the summer transfer window, and plans to start a USL Pro team have been shelved.
While Marc de Grandpre, the club’s head of commercial operations, says the team is not for sale, one source says that if a buyer approached Red Bull and offered $300 million for the Red Bulls and their stadium, the deal would get done within 48 hours.
In fact, team and stadium sale talks were indeed held by Red Bull a couple years ago with a New Jersey-based investor group and then again with Manchester City before the club acquired its MLS expansion franchise along with the New York Yankees, but neither set of talks led anywhere.
Long story short: Don't look for Red Bull to be involved in MLS in the long-term future.
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