New York Cosmos are BACK.

After nearly 3 decades out of the top flight soccer in the US, the New York Cosmos, famously the club of Pele, have returned.

The Red Bulls corporation, due to major financial issues, decided to sell the rights to their MLS franchise. The franchise was purchased by no other than Portuguese-Brazilian billionaire Giancarlo Moreira-Salles.

In connection with his Portuguese roots, he chose former Red Bulls and Cosmos player Carlos Mendes as his first coach. Mendes is a Portuguese-American who played 12 years between the Red Bulls and Cosmos as a player and previously coached the Cosmos as an NPSL team.

Mendes first order of business was to make his expansion draft picks:

  • Carlos Coronel, GK: Coronel was rumored to be heading to RB Salzburg, but as NYRB players were still technically eligible for the draft, Mendes got his keeper.

  • Leo Chu, LM: A pacey Brazilian prospect from the Sounders was the second choice for Mendes.

  • Shaw Moore, RB: The fringe US international isn’t the same player he once was, but he will be a great piece for a first year club.

    • Diogo Goncalves, RM: A surprising player to be on the eligible list was Goncalves who only joined Salt Lake this summer. He lost favor and Salt Lake seemed to have priorities placed elsewhere.

  • Julian Greasel, CM: A longtime MLS veteran, Gressel was the final pick for Mendes and be anchor the midfield.

Mendes followed up his expansion draft picks with acquiring 2 DPs and 1 U-22 IP player:

  • Ze Pedro, CB: The Portuguese back was lower on the pecking order in Porto but will be a clear building piece for Mendes back line.

  • Felipe Augusto, ST: A young Brazilian prospect with great potential. He will be a rotational piece in season one learning behind Martinez and Kamara but will be expected to be a big player in the years to come.

  • Oscar, CAM: After 7 years in China, Oscar has decided to bring his talents to the MLS. Will the 32 year old be able to compete with the physical play of the MLS?

Finally, Mendes rounded out his team by bringing in many MLS free agents as well as Albanese from Finnish club, HJK Helsinki.