Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting had accomplished nearly everything he could have hoped for in the last six years while playing for two of the most recognizable soccer teams in the world, Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich.
The 35-year-old striker won two Ligue 1 titles, one Coupe de France, and one Coupe de la Ligue with PSG. He was also runner-up in the 2020 Champions League Final, losing to Bayern Munich.
The following season, he made the jump to Germany to join the Bundesliga powerhouses. A one-year deal turned into a four-year stint, where he won three league titles, two DFL Supercups, and the FIFA Club World Cup. Replacing the legendary Robert Lewandowski, who moved from Bayern to Spanish giants Barcelona in 2022-23, Choupo-Moting scored 17 goals in 30 appearances—a key player of a Bundesliga-winning side.
Following his departure after the 2023-24 season, the Cameroonian international found his next challenge here in New York, as he signed with the Red Bulls on a free transfer that will keep him in MLS for at least the next two years.
“I think it’s the combination to play for a Red Bull team in the United States, and, of course, New York is a part of it because it’s a great city,” Choupo-Moting said. “I never got to know the US really well. I’ve discovered quite a lot in Europe. I’ve played in some great countries and in one of the best leagues. I wanted to see something new, something special. When this opportunity popped up, I was straightaway very interested because, to be honest, I played almost all of my career in Germany. I played for, I think, the best team in Germany for quite a while. Four years.
“There was not a lot more [I could do there]. What motivated me was that I wanted something special. It’s a new country, a new league, which is progressing a lot over the past few years. Even in Europe, more people are watching MLS. More players from Europe are coming over. It will be a great experience for me.”
His arrival provides a reunion, of sorts, with Red Bulls captain Emil Forsberg — the veteran Swede who helped carry German side RB Leipzig to new heights over the previous decade. Not only were the two regular combatants in Bundesliga play (Choupo-Moting also played for Schalke from 2014-2017), but they squared off in the semifinals of the Champions League in 2020, with Choupo-Moting’s PSG defeating Forsberg’s Leipzig 3-0.
“It was a better end for us,” Choupo-Moting joked.
Now, the two Bundesliga veterans join forces in MLS, with New York’s newest signing expected to be the main benefactor from Forsberg’s distribution and ability to control the midfield. The Red Bulls have long been starved of a legitimate, natural striker up top, and it has been considered one of their largest Achilles heels in recent years.
“This is a great player. Individually, a very great player,” Choupo-Moting said of Forsberg. “He’s also a leader. He’s the captain now and helping everybody. Of course, playing with him on the pitch, especially because I know he will give me a lot of good balls, so it will be fun. But we have to work every day for it to get good results and to have good cohesion together. We still need some time, I would say, to improve all the automatism and everything.
Not only can the veteran forward help bring stability up top, but his developing partnership with Forsberg has the potential to take the Red Bulls to the next step after they fell short in the MLS Cup Final less than three months ago.
“When I got to know him here, he’s a humble guy, a fantastic guy who is here to help and do better at well,” Forsberg said. “He’s going to be a great addition. He’s so important for us in the way we play, build up, and his quality on the ball. Our partnership is going to be really, really good because we understand each other on a great level.”
