Thierry Henry is the highest-paid player in MLS, and Henry’s momma didn’t raise any fools, so the French star isn’t trying to bite the Red Bull hand that feeds him. But Henry wore an armband in the last two home games to honor the MetroStars, the team that Red Bull bought and controversially rebranded back in 2006.
“That was my way to give a shout-out to the MetroStars,’’ Henry said today at practice. “As you can see and as I can see, there a lot of guys that coming to the game with the MetroStars shirt. We all know and well aware and understand that this is a Red Bulls team; that’s not going to change. But every now and then you can always give a shout-out to where the team started.”
It started in 1996, and the Red Bulls/MetroStars are the only founding team in MLS still without a major title. Henry had said earlier this season that he wants to win MLS Cup to end the fans’ long suffering, and last weekend he went straight for the South Ward and pointed to his red-and-black retro Metro armband after scoring the final goal in a 4-1 rout of Toronto FC.
The seminal moment has been rehashed over and over by Red Bulls fans because the rebranding has been a sore topic among many of the supporters, as it was for Red Bull rebrandings in Germany and Austria as well. Henry – who makes $5 million in base salary from Red Bull – was noncommittal about whether he’ll wear it again in Saturday’s tilt vs. Chicago.
“Every now and then you’ve got to remind people that you kind of know about their history and it takes time but you can see we’re trying to play our hardest,” said Henry. “We’re not good enough at times, obviously, but we’re trying to do our best.”