In the shadow of New York City, where the lights shine brightest and the stars flock, Lionel Messi will make his Major League Soccer regular season debut on Saturday.

People just tuning in to MLS, or those used to other global leagues, might expect that one of the nation’s two largest and most influential cities would also host the domestic league’s largest and most influential soccer club – or at the very least, one that is reasonably star-studded. In this league in 2023, though, that simply isn’t the case.

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The Red Bulls haven’t boasted a true MLS star in half a decade, and haven’t been home to a global star on the field in nearly twice that time. Along the way, RBNY has been consistently good if not usually great. The Red Bulls have made the MLS playoffs more times than any other club in league history, and would set a new record for consecutive playoff qualifications with 14 if they do so again this season (they currently sit three points out of the postseason spots). The club has three Supporters’ Shields, awarded to the team with the best regular-season record in the league.

However, despite all those playoff appearances and excellent regular season, the Red Bulls have only ever played in one MLS Cup final (2008, which they lost). They are one of just three surviving MLS original teams founded in 1996 to have not won the league’s top prize, along with FC Dallas and New England. The last four seasons have ended with first-round playoff exits.

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It’s a club of “almosts” – perhaps appropriate for a team with New York that actually plays nearby, about 10 miles west in New Jersey. The club’s Stadium, Red Bull Arena, is still regarded as one of the best and most atmospheric stadiums in the league when it’s full. But the club is 24th of MLS’s 29 teams in home attendance this year, reporting an average of just over 17,000 fans in their 25,000-seater.

Put together, the Red Bulls have struggled for relevancy. This is at least partially due to the jam-packed sports market in which they operate; one that boasts at least two professional teams each in the NBA, MLB, NFL and NHL, some of which are commercial and cultural juggernauts. That’s to go with teams in the WNBA and NWSL, and the small matter of a local MLS rival in NYCFC which (usually) plays within the five boroughs.

Though the Red Bulls represent the biggest market in the league, the club has faded to relative irrelevancy on both a national MLS level and local importance. Welcoming Messi isn’t just a big game for the Red Bulls’ playoff ambitions – it’s a potential chance to bring new fans into the fold, and perhaps begin to repair relations with those that left. It’s a reminder of what star power alone can accomplish in (or near) New York City.

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“It is the responsibility of the local clubs to build their fan base,” MLS commissioner Don Garber told ESPN when asked how teams, like the Red Bulls, should maximize Messi’s presence. “The league is not going to tell them what to do when somebody else comes to town.

It wasn’t always like this. Once upon a time, Red Bull Arena was a place to see stars lining up for the home team.

The New York Red Bulls signed Arsenal legend Thierry Henry from Barcelona in the summer of 2010, after Henry competed with France at the World Cup. It was an ambitious signing. Three years after David Beckham arrived at the LA Galaxy, the club had added another true global superstar in the league, and they reaped the benefits. In 2011, Henry’s first full season, the Red Bulls were fifth of 19 MLS clubs in attendance at just under 20,000. Their attendance remained around that figure until he retired following the 2014 season.

On the field, too, it was a big success. Henry led the club to the playoffs each season, including their first-ever trophy with the 2013 Supporters’ Shield. He had 52 goals and 42 assists in 135 appearances with RBNY. Along the way, New York added Mexico legend Rafa Marquez (which was far less successful). Former Everton striker and Australia international Tim Cahill joined as well, with better results.

After the Henry (and Marquez and Cahill) era ended, New York changed lanes to target rising talent rather than big names, more aligned with their wider Red Bull global ethos like RB Leipzig and RB Salzburg are known for today. That, too, was successful for the next half-decade. The Red Bulls won two more Supporters’ Shields around homegrown talent and shrewd additions from home and abroad; a successful and entertaining group led by Bradley Wright-Phillips, Sacha Kljestan and Dax McCarty. None were traditional stars, but the trio became big names in the league through their performances with the Red Bulls, while young players like Tyler Adams took their first professional steps under head coach Jesse Marsch.

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New York traded McCarty in 2017, much to the fans’ (and McCarty’s) ire. They gave the captaincy to Kljestan that year… and traded him in 2018, much to the fans’ ire again. After an injury-riddled 2019, RBNY declined the contract option for Wright-Phillips and allowed him to leave in free agency.

The three club legends were all shown the door with little regard to their status and fan sentiment; Worse, none of those players were directly replaced. It’s a lethal mix for fan support, and that shows in the attendance numbers, which have only dropped since the club set a record average of 21,175 in 2017.

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In a city that welcomes and promotes big stars, the Red Bulls have gone far too long without one of their own. In the wake of Messi joining, though, GM Marc De Grandpré has promised the club’s spend will increase this winter.

“I can tell you that, next year, we’re going to make a significant investment into our roster to make sure that we can compete at the highest level in MLS consistently,” De Grandpré told ROI-NJ. “There’s no doubt that we’re going to.”

Fans of the club are dubious, but time will tell. At any rate, it’s not as if the New York isn’t necessarily spending any money.

This offseason they splurged an initial transfer fee of $5.3 million to sign Belgian forward Dante Vanzeir, with add-ons that could make the deal a new club record. Vanzier hasn’t quite found form on the field with only two goals this season, and he was suspended for six games for using a racist remark in April on his first start. Forward Patryk Klimala (north of $4 million) and midfielder Luquinhas ($3 million) were significant additions as well in recent years, but Klimala has already been transferred to Israel and Luquinhas has severely underwhelmed after a strong start.

Whether or not further investment comes as De Grandpré promised, the Red Bulls still have community rebuilding to do with the fanbase. Or roster rebuilding at least, because fans have shown up when the team was good, Henry or not.

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For this weekend, they’ll be buoyed by a sellout crowd with Messi in town. Then, in all likelihood, it’ll be back to regularly scheduled programming for their next home match against Austin FC.

(Top photo: Evan Yu/Getty Images)