Red Bulls on Parade

There are several newsworthy Red Bulls items coming out of New York this morning, provided to us from omnipresent MLS snitch Ives Galarcep.
-----------
Firstly, the club has traded Dema Kovalenko to Real Salt Lake. In return, New York will receive an undisclosed draft pick in the 2010 SuperDraft.Kovalenko, 30, is an experienced midfielder who has appeared in over 225 MLS games, including stints with the Chicago Fire and D.C. United. He is a three-time All-Star who has contributed 41 goals and 39 assists over his nine-year career, though his production dropped significantly after joining the Red Bulls in 2006 (2 goals, 1 assist in 35 games).

2007 salary: $197,375


Also, the club has waived Liberian forward Francis Doe. The 22-year-old made eight appearances for New York last season - four starts - scoring two goals and adding an assist.

2007 salary: $48,000

-----------

This one had been rumored for some time, but Ives is now confirming that the Red Bulls will indeed host Spanish giants FC Barcelona for an exhibition at Giants Stadium on August 7th. The two sides previously met two years ago, with Barca downing the MLS outfit by a score of 4-1 in front of over 79,000 fans.New York was also trying to stage a similar exhibition with Real Madrid around the same time, but Los Merengues have opted to do a tour of the West Coast instead.