Sports

Salary cap woes loom over Red Bulls’ offseason

The MLS Cup this past weekend closed out the league season, but now the silly season is about to start. The Red Bulls have recently been linked to prospective Designated Players like Ashley Cole and Park Ji-Sung, but sources told the Post they haven’t been in touch with either.

Not only won’t they add either of those as Designated Players, there’s certainly no guarantee they’ll add any high-priced foreign star this winter. And if they do, as the Post reported back in the summer, it will likely be a younger, more cost-efficient one that will help on the field rather than just a big name to help in the boardroom.

Granted, Park Ji-Sung – who is on loan from Queens Park Rangers back to Dutch side PSV Eindhoven – fits the Tim Cahill mold of a hard-working, honest player who will help the team win more than sell jerseys. But the Red Bulls have legitimate salary cap issues to worry about before adding any Designated Players.

“There’s no money,’’ one source summed up.

Just to be clear, that isn’t to say that Red Bulls’ billionaire Austrian energy drink owner Dietrich Mateschitz – or even Gérard Houllier, Red Bulls’ Head of Global Football – would refuse to foot the bill to bring a Designated Player to New York.

The issue is more about sporting director Andy Roxburgh having to work through some very tight cap constraints, and that’s even with an extra $100,000 of space for reaching the CONCACAF Champions League.

Anywhere from 13 to 18 Red Bulls are set to receive increases in salary, depending on who is retained. That’s not including Heath Pearce, who is no longer with the team, but does include striker Fabian Espindola, who is set for what one source called “a huge” hit on the cap next season. It was reported that the club parted ways with the Argentine, but he still appears on the roster.

They’re still negotiating to bring back reserve striker Andre Akpan, and coach Mike Petke has talked about a desire to add a starting-quality attacking midfielder. They could use upgrades or at least depth at striker and on the wing, and Roxburgh has proven adept at working the cap so far. Clearly he has his work cut out for him … and some hard decisions to make.