Christian Pulisic wants to come home. That's the belief at NYCFC, anyway — and on Thursday, they stopped pretending otherwise.
At MLS's "The Next Chapter" event in New York, NYCFC CEO Brad Sims confirmed the club's interest in the AC Milan winger openly and without much diplomatic padding. "We're believers that Christian is going to want to play here, wants to play in MLS, wants to be back home," Sims said. "Whatever point that is, we would think and hope that New York City FC would be very high on his list."
The complications are real. Milan aren't selling. Pulisic has one year left on his contract, which means NYCFC's cleaner path is waiting until January, when he'd be eligible to sign a pre-contract. But the club isn't hiding its ambition — not with a $780 million stadium opening July 17, 2027, and a clear desire to fill what Sims called "the flagship player" gap. Pulisic arriving as Etihad Park opens would be quite a statement. Anyone pricing NYCFC's Eastern Conference title chances should factor in how dramatically that roster could shift over the next 12 months.
Griezmann Is Actually Here
Antoine Griezmann's move to Orlando City has been telegraphed for years — the LAFC flirtation, the American culture obsession, the slow fade from Atlético Madrid. This time it's done. He was at MLS headquarters Thursday saying the right things, and for once it wasn't speculation.
"It's always been a dream to finish my career here in the United States, and I wanted to be here in peak physical and mental condition," Griezmann said. He's coming off seven goals and four assists in La Liga last season and a Copa del Rey final run with Atlético. That's not a player coasting in on reputation.
What sealed it, he said, was Orlando's pitch — owner Mark Wilf, sporting director Ricardo Moreira, and apparently the city itself winning over his wife. That last detail matters more than people give credit for in these moves.
Orlando's odds to contend in the East are worth a second look. Griezmann at full capacity, with genuine motivation, is a different animal than a veteran collecting a paycheck in the sun.
The Bigger Picture Under Garber
Commissioner Don Garber used the event to reflect on the 2026 World Cup's impact and hint at structural changes coming before the season ends. The league's "MLS 3.0" program — covering a new summer-to-spring calendar, updated roster rules, stadium expansion, and a revised competition format — is reportedly on the verge of being fully announced.
"What other league is sitting there and thinking about, 'How do I change our structure?'" Garber said. It's a fair point, even if it doubles as self-congratulation.
Elsewhere at the event, NYCFC defender Kevin O'Toole backed his club's pursuit of Pulisic — "you could especially see him in our system" — while also offering a measured defense of goalkeeper Matt Freese, whose otherwise strong World Cup was defined by one costly error against Belgium. "I think he's now the winningest goalkeeper in U.S. history," O'Toole noted. Three World Cup victories. Two clean sheets tied for the national record. One mistake that will follow him anyway.
And Tim Ream, 39, playing for Charlotte FC and still open to USMNT call-ups: "I won't retire from the national team until I retire. And that's not because I think I should still be there." Honest, at least.
