The New York Red Bulls have signed veteran striker Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting to a contract that will, at minimum, last two years and begin in January of 2025, a source confirmed with amNewYork on Sunday.
Florian Plettenberg of Sky Sports Germany was the first to report the free transfer.
Choupo-Moting, 35, has most recently played for two of the largest clubs in the world to add considerable experience to New York’s attack. The Cameroonian international played for French giants Paris Saint-Germain from 2018 to 2020 before joining the German powerhouse Bayern Munich from 2020 to 2024.
He was Bayern’s most clinical scorer just two years ago, recording 17 goals in 30 matches across all competitions. However, the mega-signing of England international Harry Kane from Tottenham saw Choupo-Moting fall out of favor. His minutes were almost cut in half as he started just nine out of the 34 games he appeared in during the 2023-24 season.
With the Red Bulls, Choupo-Moting becomes a looming fixture up front, standing at 6-foot-3, to provide a reliable option alongside the inconsistent Dante Vanzeir and Elias Manoel. It also allows Scottish international Lewis Morgan to stay at his preferred position on the wing.
Choupo-Moting’s signing jives with head of sports Jochen Schneider’s desire to bring on more experience to a team that overcame the inexperience of being the youngest team in Major League Soccer to make a Cinderella run to the MLS Cup Final. New York fell to the Los Angeles Galaxy 2-1 in the championship game as their search for a first-ever league title continues.
The contributions of Morgan and Swedish international Emil Forsberg were. the engines of the Red Bulls’ big year. Forsberg was the club’s marquee signing last year, coming over from Red Bull Leipzig and bringing a resume that included extensive experience in the UEFA Champions League and appearances for Sweden at the European Championships and World Cup.
“You can see how much a player like Emil Forsberg was helping our crew on and also off the pitch,” Schneider said on Dec. 10. “I was talking about this amazing group of talented players, young players. But from time to time, they need a little bit of experience on the side, some guidance. And this is what we want to add to our roster — a little bit more quality, a little bit more experience, a little bit more leadership. This is because we are convinced that you need that in critical, crucial moments of the season, in these big games. This is our plan to add that to our roster this offseason.”
Choupo-Moting has played at the highest levels of soccer for the better part of the last 18 years. He played in Germany’s top flight, the Bundesliga, with Hamburg, Mainz, and Schalke from 2007 to 2017 before joining Stoke City in the Engish Premier League for the 2017-18 season.
After coming up through the ranks of the German national team, he committed to the Cameroonian senior national side in 2010. He appeared in the 2010, 2014, and 2022 World Cups, which featured a goal in a group-stage 3-3 draw with Serbia at the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
