New York Red Bulls Sign Loanee Omer Damari as Designated Player

The New York Red Bulls announced on Thursday, August 4, that they completed the loan signing of Israeli forward Omer Damari before the transfer window closed on Wednesday. Damari will be joining the club until the end of the Major League Soccer season, arriving from RB Leipzig in Germany.

The player joined RB Leipzig, one of the many soccer teams owned by Red Bull, in the winter of 2015, but has made little impact with the German club. He spent the last year on loan at another one of the Red Bull soccer teams, Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, making him the first player to play for those three Red Bull-owned clubs. In Austria, he scored four goals and notched as many assists in 16 matches. Damari has played on 17 occasions with the Israel national team since 2010, and has scored nine goals.

In New York, Damari will join forward Bradley Wright-Phillips and midfielder Gonzalo Verón as Designated Players, making him one of the three highest paid players on the roster. The Israeli’s exact salary has not yet been reported.

Damari is a former teammate of another one of the Red Bulls’ newest signing, Daniel Royer. The Austrian, who joined the club yesterday, knew Damari when the two were players for Austria Wien in the 2014-15 Austrian Bundesliga season.

The forward will not be available for the reigning Supporters’ Shield champions until his ITC and P-1 visa have been approved.