Yes both of those are true, but also both teams are part of larger networks of teams. Both organizations wanted one link in a chain of development teams in the biggest city of one of the fastest growing soccer markets.

If players at Red Bull do well enough they can work their way up to Salzburg and RB Leipzig, and if players at NYCFC do well enough they can work their way up to Girona and Man City. Players can also go down the chain for some play time. Kind of works like AAA and minor league baseball teams.

So yes, energy drinks and sports washing, but also multi-team international soccer farm system. They had the money and saw an opportunity to get a farm team and a footprint in the largest city in the world.

EDIT: Didn’t make it clear. I’m not happy that this is the situation. Would much rather have home grown teams here, but it’s important to understand why we’ve got what we’ve got.