New York Red Bulls land 104-goal former Bayern Munich striker on two-year deal

New York Red Bulls have signed former Bayern Munich striker Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting on a two-year deal, after he left the German outfit in the summer.

The MLS has been the home to a number of big names from Europe in recent years. The likes of David Beckham, Steven Gerrard and Gareth Bale have all headed to the US at the back end of their careers.

While the latest MLS signing is perhaps not quite on that level, it is still a big name, in a man who in the summer left Bayern Munich after four years and 38 goals: Choupo-Moting.

New York Red Bulls have confirmed the signing of the Cameroon international – who has 104 goals to his name at club level – on a two-year contract.

The club’s head of sport Jochen Schneider said: “We are excited to add a player of Maxim’s caliber to our roster. Maxim is a great player, a winner and his experience in Europe’s top leagues will be greatly important to our club in 2025 and beyond.”

Head coach Sandro Schwarz added: “Maxim is a strong forward that will bring a lot of experience and leadership to our club. He will be a great addition to our roster, and we are looking forward to seeing him on the pitch at Sports Illustrated Stadium.”

DON’T MISS: Who will be the next MLS record sale? Five candidates to topple Thiago Almada’s $30m record

Choupo-Moting’s interesting career path

The former Bayern man’s career path has been a very intriguing one.

The Cameroon international played all of his youth football in Germany, and played for multiple top-flight clubs there in his senior career, including: Hamburg, Nurnberg, Mainz, and Schalke in the initial period.

He then headed for the English Premier League with Stoke City, and after five goals and five assists there, was granted a move to French giants Paris Saint-German.

After two years there, Choupo-Moting returned to Germany with Bayern, where he won the Bundesliga on three occasions.

A move to America will see the striker tick off his fourth country to have represented a club in.

MLS round-up: Two clubs hunting De Bruyne

The MLS could add another star name to their ranks, with two clubs tracking Manchester City superstar Kevin De Bruyne.

Inter Miami and San Diego FC would both like to take the Belgian on board.

The latter are also said to be one of the clubs hoping to land Liverpool icon Mohamed Salah, who is set to be out of contract at Anfield at the end of the current Premier League season.

It has also been reiterated that Neymar would like to move to Inter Miami.

It was first reported in November that the Brazilian wanted to link up with former Barcelona team-mates Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez there, and it is now said that he’s told Al-Hilal team-mates that’s where he plans to go.

MLS – Two clubs before