New York City FC have Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard – and now their cross city rivals, the Red Bulls, have two members of one of English soccer’s more famous families.
On Monday, the Red Bulls announced the signing of former England international Shaun Wright-Phillips, brother of their current striker Bradley. The pair’s father, Ian Wright, played for England and Arsenal in a long and prolific career.
“Shaun is a proven player who has played on soccer’s largest stage,” said the New York Red Bulls sporting director, Ali Curtis. “He can play a number of positions for us and is an excellent fit in our locker room. When we evaluated the unique set of circumstances along with the quality that Shaun has, it became apparent that we needed to be aggressive about adding Shaun to our club. We are pleased that he will be wearing a Red Bull jersey and we can’t wait for him to take the field.”
PHOTOS: @TheRealBWP is the first to welcome his brother @swp29 to the club. http://t.co/0ggYoKizli #WelcomeSWP pic.twitter.com/04JV2W8zam
— New York Red Bulls (@NewYorkRedBulls) July 27, 2015
Wright-Phillips could make his debut as soon as Saturday, when the Red Bulls travel to Philadelphia Union. The Red Bulls are currently third in the Eastern Conference, nine points behind leaders DC United although the New York team have four games in hand.
Wright-Phillips was once seen as one of English football’s most potent attacking threats, and won the Premier League title with Chelsea in 2005-06 as well as the FA Cup with Manchester City. But his star faded as his career progressed and he made just 18 appearances for QPR in the last two seasons.
The Red Bulls will not be the first team to have employed both brothers. They were also together towards the start of their careers at Manchester City in 2004.
