"It makes sense for us to have a signature player or players on the team in this new era for us." That's NYCFC CEO Brad Sims, and he's not just talking — the club has been linked to Christian Pulisic, Mohamed Salah, and Romelu Lukaku in the same transfer window.
Salah is off the table, now at Trabzonspor. Lukaku looks likely headed to Atlanta United. But Sims made clear on Tuesday that NYCFC aren't done: "We're definitely , there's 30 days left in this window. It just depends on when a player is available and wants to come."
Thirty days. Clock's running.
The Stadium Changes Everything
The context here matters. NYCFC's $780 million Etihad Park opens July 17, 2027 — privately financed, inside the five boroughs, and a full decade in the making. That's not a vanity project. That's a franchise repositioning itself. Right now, NYCFC are a well-run club that wins games but doesn't move the needle nationally. With a purpose-built stadium in New York City and a marquee name in the squad, that calculation shifts.
David Villa winning MLS MVP in 2016 remains the high-water mark for star power at this club. That's a long time to coast on one legacy signing. Sims knows it — the Pulisic conversation has been going on publicly for a while now, and the fact that he's still bringing it up suggests there's more substance to it than wishful thinking.
Whether Pulisic actually moves to MLS while still in his prime at AC Milan is a separate, harder question. But NYCFC clearly want to be the destination if and when that conversation gets real.
MLS's Bigger Problem
Beyond the transfer window, Sims had sharper things to say about where MLS actually stands. The Apple TV deal runs through 2028-29, and by his own admission, TV and media rights are "the one hole we have." The World Cup generated record revenue and viewership across North America — and MLS needs to convert that attention into a sustainable broadcast deal before that window closes.
New commissioner Larry Berg inherits a league with improving infrastructure, growing rosters, and a post-World Cup bump in public interest. But without a media-rights structure that puts MLS games in front of casual fans — not just subscribers actively seeking them out — the ceiling stays where it is.
A stadium worth nearly $800 million and a marquee signing won't fix that problem on their own. But they don't hurt NYCFC's leverage when the next rights negotiation arrives.
