Florian Valot signs MLS contract with New York Red Bulls

Former Rider University men's soccer standout Florian Valot has signed an MLS contract with the New York Red Bulls pending receipt of his P-1 Visa. Valot, 23, joins the senior team after two seasons with NYRB II, the club's USL affiliate. He will occupy an international spot on the Red Bulls roster.

"This is great for Flo, everyone who played with him along with the coaches and staff are happy and proud," says Rider Head Coach Charlie Inverso. He did it the hard way, go to an open tryout and play two years in the USL (the Red Bull equivalent to AAA) and making a name for himself. He is going to be playing in a great organization for a great coach in Jesse Marsch."

Valot signed with NYRB II in June of 2016 after an early season trial. He had previously played with the Red Bulls Under-23 team in PDL during the summer of 2015.

Valot had his best season with NYRB II in 2017, tallying career-high marks in games played (32), minutes played (2585), goals (10) and assists (7). In two seasons with Red Bulls II, he has recorded 53 games played with 13 goals and 13 assists over 3,797 minutes played.

Valot, a native of Pau, France, spent time in the Paris Saint-Germain and AS Monaco youth systems before coming the United States for college. He played two seasons at Rider, making 34 appearances while recording 13 goals and six assists. He led the Broncs to a MAAC Championship and an NCAA Tournament berth in 2015.

"He's an awesome talent, tremendous person and very loyal to Rider soccer," Inverso says. "He comes back to at least four games a year. Now we can get up to Red Bull Stadium to see him."