RBNY Signs Homegrown Left Back Matty Dos Santos to 3.5 Year MLS Contract

Following the Red Bull New York's 1-0 victory against the New England Revolution on Saturday, Feb. 28, 17-year-old Dos Santos was asked if he had any goals in mind for the 2026 season: 

"I'd love to stay with the first team."

Well, the young man has earned that and then some.

On Friday, Mar. 6, RBNY announced that it had finalized the signing of left back academy product Matty Dos Santos to a three-and-a-half-year Homegrown Major League Soccer contract.

The deal runs through the 2028-2029 season with options for the 2029-30 season and the 2030-31 season.

Dos Santos has turned a lot of heads around RBNY and the greater American soccer community since starting the opening two matches of the 2026 MLS season alongside fellow teenage academy graduates Julian Hall and Adri Mehmeti. In those two matches, the Sandy Hook, CT native has impressed in all areas of the game, leading to his undroppable status within the team and prompting his first MLS contract.

Cementing the hype around the Red Bulls youth movement, Dos Santos picked up his first career MLS assist in the match, a secondary helper on Hall's game-winning goal from Saturday against the Revolution. Mehmeti picked up the primary assist to combine the first goal in MLS history where three players aged 17 or younger contributed to a single goal.

The 2008-born full back has been with the Red Bulls since joining the pre-academy in 2017, making the jump to MLS Next Pro and RBNY II in 2024. He was a regular fixture under Head Coach Michael Bradley during RBNY II's successful 2025 MLS Next Pro Cup campaign. Going even further back, he was a part of that landmark U-15 Red Bulls academy team that won the MLS Next Cup championship in 2023 (featuring the likes of first-team regulars Hall, Mehmeti and Tanner Rosborough).

In 2025, Dos Santos tallied 25 appearances across all competitions for the Baby Bulls and was instrumental to their cup winning season. In the 2025-26 offseason, Dos Santos became a consistent figure in the Red Bulls first team's preseason, earning praise from Bradley and, ultimately, a spot in the starting eleven ahead of established first team full backs like Omar Valencia.

At the international level, the young left back has featured for the United States U-17 National Team, where he has made three appearances for the team in June of 2025.

In a statement to media, RBNY Head of Sport Julian de Guzman said, "We’re very pleased to sign Matty to a first team contract. He’s a young player who has shown strong growth through our pathway and has earned this opportunity with his commitment and performances. We believe Matty has the mentality and potential to continue developing within our environment, and we’re excited to support the next step in his progression."

Bradley echoed the positive comments of de Guzman, saying, "Matty has worked hard every day to put himself in this position. He’s shown a real willingness to learn, a good understanding of what we ask from players in his role, and the character we value in this group. This contract is a positive step for him, and now the focus is on continuing to push his development and helping the team in any way he can."

While Bradley has been adament that the club is still working on building up Dos Santos's fitness, fans can expect to see the young full back owning that position on the left side of defense for a long-time coming. Red Bull New York is back in action on Sunday, Mar. 8 when it hosts the lowly CF Montreal at Sports Illustrated Stadium for a 4:30 PM kickoff. The match will be available to stream on Apple TV.

RBNYs Add Greg Mathieson as Newest Assistant Coach / Head of Match Analysis 

Red Bull New York announced the signing of new Assistant Coach and Head of Match Analysis Greg Mathieson on Thursday, Mar. 5.

The 38-year-old Irvine, Scotlant native started his coaching career with Dundee United, where he served as a Youth Coach for four years until 2009.

From there, he had stints with Blackburn Rovers and Hibernian FC before joining English Premier League side West Ham United as a scout in 2012.

After two seasons with West Ham, he served as an Opponent Analysis for Liverpool FC from 2015 to 2018 and then continued with the club under Jurgen Klopp until 2023 as the club's Chief Analyst (290 matches). In the role, he helped Liverpool win the 2018-19 UEFA Champions League, 2019-20 English Premier League title, 2019 FIFA Club World Cup, 2021-22 FA Cup, and the 2021-22 League Cup. 

Most recently, Mathieson spent two season with the Qatar National Team as an Opponent Analysis. During his time with The Maroons, he helped lead the national team to the 2023 AFC Asian Cup title and later secure qualification to the 2026 World Cup.

Empire Soccer Report Episode 8 is live!

In this episode of Empire Soccer Report, James Birle talks about the latest RBNY transfer news, provides a recap of the club's 1-0 win against the New England Revolution and previews the upcoming match against CF Montreal: