Red Bull CEO: 'MLS is developing far too slowly'

People who think Major League Soccer is holding back soccer in the United States gained an unexpected ally this week. Oliver Mintzlaff, CEO of Corporate Projects and New Investments for Red Bull, said in an interview on Monday that MLS is not growing as fast as it should be. Additionally, Mintzlaff said the players coming out of the New York Red Bulls have largely disappointed him.

Mintzlaff revealed that there has been no real benefit to having a club in the United States. He says the league’s minimal development since Red Bull entered the division is disappointing. Red Bull took ownership of the New York/New Jersey MetroStars in 2006.

Slow development in the Americas

Kicker presented to Mintzlaff the statement that: “Up until now, the benefits of the (Red Bull clubs) in Brazil and New York—apart from Tyler Adams—are not evident.” 

The Red Bull CEO agreed strongly with that assessment of how things have gone for Red Bull in the Americas.

“Absolutely right,” he said, “MLS is developing, but it’s developing far too slowly and is still far away from the standard we would imagine for a country like the USA.”

However, as Derek Rae pointed out on Twitter, Mintzlaff is not entirely pessimistic about MLS and the US soccer market.

“I still remain bullish about the topic of football in the USA, also in relation to the Club World Cup 2025 & World Cup in 2026. We’re investing around €200 million into a fantastic academy to be opened in 2 years,” Mintzlaff added.

Is Mintzlaff part of the problem?

Even though he said he was optimistic about US soccer, many critics used Mintzlaff’s words as proof that MLS is holding the game back. In response, MLS fans pointed out that the criticism is a bit rich coming from someone like Mintzlaff.

The Red Bulls boast the best playoff record in MLS history. They have qualified for the playoffs a record 25 times, including the last 15 seasons consecutively. Despite this impressive record, the Red Bulls have never won an MLS Cup. They’ve only been to one MLS Cup Final. 

In most seasons, the Red Bulls are nothing more than a mediocre team. They qualify for the playoffs because, let’s face it, qualifying for the playoffs isn’t hard in MLS. This is even more true with the current system where 62% of the league qualifies.

Many New York Red Bull fans say this mediocrity is because Mintzlaff and Red Bull Global do not invest in the club. According to those supporters, New York is an afterthought. There is never just one reason a team is not successful, but it is hard to disagree with those fans.

Overall poor performances and lack of measurable success

This season, New York qualified for the playoffs. Overall, NYRB has not been a good team. 

The Red Bulls were destroyed 5-1 at home by their Hudson River Derby rivals NYCFC on Saturday. As bad as that loss was, it’s not that out of the ordinary for the Red Bulls this season. They have won only one game in all competitions since July.

If the Red Bulls were doing everything they could to win, maybe Mintzlaff’s comments would have some more weight. But they’re not. NYRB is one of the few teams in the league that have not filled all their allowed designated player slots. Bringing in even an average DP could have done wonders to improve the Red Bulls this season.

Mintzlaff may be right about the game growing slowly in the US, but he is part of the problem too. If he wants soccer to develop faster Stateside, he and Red Bull can invest in their MLS team. Instead, they have relied on the league’s lax playoff rules as an excuse for not showing ambition.

PHOTOS: IMAGO.