Emil Forsberg leads New York Red Bulls to MLS Cup: "I came to win"
CARSON, Calif. – Flashback to November 4, 2023.
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
• First MLS goal – vs. FC Dallas, 3/9/2024
• First MLS assist – vs. FC Dallas, 3/9/2024
• First MLS game – at Nashville SC, 2/25/2024
• First MLS start – at Nashville SC, 2/25/2024
2024: MLS: Started 15 of 19 matches played...logging 1,357 minutes played...recorded nine goals and five assists...scored his first MLS goal and first MLS assist on March 9 against FC Dallas...tallied his first career mutli-goal match on May 29 against Charlotte FC...has recorded two matches with a goal and an assist in the same match...recorded two multi-goal matches for New York. Playoffs: Started and played in five matches...logging 442 minutes played...recorded one goal and one assist.
PRIOR TO NEW YORK
Forsberg joins New York after spending the last 10 seasons with RB Leipzig in the Bundesliga. He made 323 appearances for the club, where he scored 71 goals and tallied 68 assists. Forsberg joined RB Leipzig in 2015, when the club was 2. Bundesliga, which is the second division in German football. Forsberg helped lead RB Leipzig to promotion to the Bundesliga in 2016, where the midfielder led the league in assists with 22 and in all of the top five leagues in Europe. He was named to the 2016-2017 Bundesliga Team of the Season in that campaign. Forsberg won two DFB-Pokal’s with RB Leipzig, including the club’s first in 2021, where he scored the game-winning goal in the semifinals against Union Berlin. Prior to RB Leipzig, Forsberg began his career in 2009 with GIF Sundsvall, his hometown club. He would go on to make 104 appearances with the club and record 25 goals and 11 assists. The midfielder helped Sundsvall gain promotion to Sweden’s first tier of football, Allsvenskan, after scoring 11 goals in 27 matches during the 2011 season. Forsberg then transferred to Malmo FF before the beginning of the 2013 season. With the club, he made 84 appearances and recorded 25 goals and 13 assists. In his first season with the club, he scored five goals and helped Malmo FF win the league title and then in 2014, helped them defend the league title by scoring 14 goals in 29 appearances. Forsberg was named the Allsvenskan Midfielder of the Year in 2014.
INTERNATIONAL EXPERIENCE
Forsberg has made 89 international appearances for Sweden's Men's National team...scored 21 goals and added nine assists...made debut for Sweden on January 17, 2014, in a 2-1 win over Moldova...scored his first career goal for Sweden in a UEFA Euro 2016 qualifying playoff match against Denmark, which secured qualification for Sweden in Euro 2016. He has competed in two Euros (2016, 2020) and made the roster for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. The Sundsvall, Sweden native scored the game-winning goal against Switzerland in the Round of 16 to send Sweden to the quarterfinals of the World Cup for the first time since 1958. He has been named Swedish Midfielder of the Year four times in 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2021, and he earned the Guldbollen award in 2021 as well, which is given to the top Swedish male player each year.
ACQUIRED
The Red Bulls have completed the transfer of Emil Forsberg from RB Leipzig on December 16, 2023. Forsberg joins New York as a Designated Player and has signed a three-year MLS contract through 2026 with an option for 2027.