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    New York City FC

    Yankee Stadium hosts New York City v DC United in the MLS in October 2020

    2021 MLS Champions New York City FC have swiftly risen to the top of tree since their inception in 2013. David Villa, Frank Lampard and Andrea Pirlo are among the stars to have played for the club.

    In 2006, MLS founding team New York/New Jersey MetroStars sold to Red Bull and rebranded as the New York Red Bulls. As a condition of the sale, the team waived exclusive territorial rights to New York, allowing MLS to add a second team to the largest metropolitan area in the United States.

    The league announced in 2010 that a team would join the league in 2013, but this was pushed back when the proposed New York Cosmos reboot joined the NASL instead.

    Manchester City jumped in and became the new owners, opting to work with the New York Yankees on a $100million expansion fee. New York City Football Club was officially announced on May 21, 2013, with former US men's national team midfielder Claudio Reyna as the director of football operations.

    NYCFC hired former Real Salt Lake manager Jason Kreis on December 11, 2013, as they prepared for their first game in the 2015 season.

    He took the job four days after losing the MLS Cup final with RSL on penalty kicks. The club confirmed in April 2014 they would play home games at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx while looking for a site for a soccer-specific stadium.

    In their first five years in MLS, NYCFC have had regular-season success, but failed in the play-offs every season. In four of their first five seasons, they finished in the top three in the Eastern Conference but never progressed past the quarter-final round of the play-offs. Then in 2021, NYCFC became MLS champions, after a beating the Portland Timbers on penalties.

    NYCFC have yet to get past the quarter-final stage of the US Open Cup or the CONCACAF Champions League.

    There has been something of a revolving door for sideline staff, with four presidents and four managers in six seasons.

    NYCFC have averaged at least 21,000 fans in every season during which supporters have been allowed to attend games.

    They have also attracted some of the top talent from around the world in terms of Designated Players. Spain's David Villa, England's Frank Lampard and Italy's Andrea Pirlo were all in NYCFC's inaugural team in 2015.

    USMNT players Mix Diskerud and Sean Johnson have also played for NYCFC along with Brazilian forward Heber, Finnish midfielder Alexander Ring and current Leeds United midfielder Jack Harrison.

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