New York City FC are delighted to announce the signing of Alexander Ring, pending receipt of his P-1 Visa and ITC.
A Finland international midfielder, the 25-year old signs from Kaiserslautern. Targeted Allocation Money was used to acquire the player.
Ring told NYCFC.com: “As soon as I heard of the interest I was intrigued because I know how big the club is and how well-supported the team is.
“It took a long time to get it done but as soon as I knew about the New York option it was clear for me that I wanted to do it. I had to fight for it hard but I’m so happy.
“I’ve been watching the MLS games they show in Germany on Eurosport and I’ve learned it’s a very physical league and maybe an underestimated one.
“I want to leave my mark – I think when the people get to know me they will see I’m a winner and always give 110% and fight to win.”
NYCFC Head Coach Patrick Vieira believes Alexander is a player entering his prime who can come in and contribute immediately.
Vieira said: “At 25, Alexander is a player entering his peak years who has played at a high level over a number of seasons.
“He’s a midfielder who can contribute on both sides of the game, both defensively and offensively and he gives us another great option either at the base of midfield or box-to-box.
“Alexander has a good engine and is a competitive player which should suit Major League Soccer.
“He had a real desire to play for this club and be a part of the project at New York City, so we’re really happy to have him onboard for 2017 and look forward to him arriving to train with us.”
Sporting Director Claudio Reyna added: “We are excited to welcome Alexander to the NYCFC family. He’s been performing at a high level with FC Kaiserslautern in Germany and is an important player for the Finland national team.
“Alexander brings important leadership qualities and is passionate about embarking on this new challenge at NYCFC.
“We look forward to integrating him into the club during the preseason and getting him working with Patrick and the rest of the coaching staff as we continue to build towards the start of the 2017 MLS season.”
Although he was born in Helsinki, Alexander spent a substantial period of his childhood in Germany and developed as a player in the youth academies at VFL Lannesdorf and Bayer Leverkusen, as well as Anderlecht in Belgium and HJK Helsinki back in Finland.
He made his senior debut at Klubi-04 before signing a full professional contract at the age of 19 back at Helsinki in 2010.
Following two years in the Helsinki first-team, a year-long loan spell at Borussia Monchengladbach convinced FC Kaiserslautern to take Ring to Germany on a full-time basis in 2013 and he’s been there since, making more than 70 league appearances.
At international level, Ring made his debut for Finland in June 2011 against Sweden before cementing himself as a regular in the Euro 2012 qualifying campaign.
To date, Alexander has won 42 Finland caps, scoring once against Luxembourg in March, 2013.
