If you can’t beat them, get them on your team.

The Red Bulls have signed Jamaican international forward Cory Burke to a two-year Major League Soccer contract with an option for 2025, the club announced Monday.

“We are very happy to have Cory join our club,” head of sport Jochen Schneider said in a statement. “He is a strong striker that has a lot of experience in MLS and knows our playing style very well and we are looking forward to having him with us.”

Burke, 30, has spent the last five seasons with the Philadelphia Union, where he made 93 MLS appearances and recorded 25 goals and eight assists. The forward set a career high in games with 33 this past season. Burke has made seven career MLS Cup playoffs appearances, scoring twice, including one in a 3-1 victory against New York City FC in the 2022 MLS Eastern Conference final.

“Cory has a proven track record in MLS, and we are very excited to add him to our roster,” Red Bulls head coach Gerhard Struber said in a statement. “He is a strong and skillful forward that we are very happy to have with us.”

Prior to Philadelphia, Burke spent two seasons with Bethlehem Steel FC, the Union’s former USL Championship affiliate. The Kingston, Jamaica native made 49 appearances and scored 15 goals. Hebegan his professional career with Rivoli United, which plays in Jamaica’s Red Stripe Premier League. He spent three seasons with the club, scoring 25 goals, including a dozen goals in the 2015-2016 season.

Burke has earned 27 caps for the Jamaican national team since making his internaitonal debut on Sept. 7, 2016, in a World Cup qualifier against Haiti. He scored his first international goal against Guyana on Oct. 26, 2016. He has recorded seven goals for the Reggae Boyz. Burke has played in Concacaf Gold Cup, Concacaf Nations League and Caribbean Cup competitions.

 

 

Front Row Soccer editor Michael Lewis has covered 13 World Cups (eight men, five women), seven Olympics and 25 MLS Cups. He has written about New York City FC, New York Cosmos, the New York Red Bulls and both U.S. national teams for Newsday and has penned a soccer history column for the Guardian.com. Lewis, who has been honored by the Press Club of Long Island and National Soccer Coaches Association of America, is the former editor of BigAppleSoccer.com. He has written seven books about the beautiful game and has published ALIVE AND KICKING The incredible but true story of the Rochester Lancers. It is available at Amazon.com.