SAN JOSE, Calif. – The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that the club has signed free agent forward Josef Martínez to a one-year contract through 2025 with a club option for 2026.
Martínez, 31, has become one of the most decorated players in Major League Soccer over eight seasons in the league, including six with Atlanta United FC (2017-22) and one each with Inter Miami CF (2023) and CF Montréal (2024). This past campaign, he netted 11 goals and had three assists in 23 regular-season games for the Bleu-blanc-noir. He scored an additional two goals in the Audi MLS Cup Playoffs and once more in Leagues Cup play for a total of 14 goals across all competitions in 2024.
“Josef Martinez is an accomplished goalscorer in our league and is clearly an excellent addition to our team,” said Earthquakes Sporting Director and Head Coach Bruce Arena. “We are looking forward to his contributions to our attack.”
Overall, Martínez has scored 116 goals and tallied 20 assists in 184 career MLS regular-season appearances. He is one of just 13 players to have scored at least 100 MLS goals and became the fastest player to achieve the feat in league history in just 125 games. Martínez is currently seventh on MLS’ all-time scoring list, with Earthquakes legend Chris Wondolowski atop the field (171). Today’s signing also means San Jose will now have two of the top seven players in MLS history in goals scored per 90 minutes, with Martínez third (0.783) and new teammate Cristian “Chicho” Arango seventh (0.702).
“I’m happy to be here, to be part of this group and the San Jose Earthquakes,” said Martinez. “I’m very excited for the new year and hope we can make history here.”
A prolific striker from Valencia, Venezuela, Martínez first came into prominence during his time in Atlanta, where he was named MLS Most Valuable Player in 2018 after winning the league’s Golden Boot with 31 goals. Martínez would ultimately lead the 5-Stripes to their first Audi MLS Cup trophy that season, earning Audi MLS Cup MVP honors. Individually, he also was named to the league’s Best XI three consecutive seasons (2017-19), selected to the MLS All-Star Game twice (2018-19) and named MLS All-Star Game MVP (2019). From a team standpoint, Martínez also won the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup (2019) and the Campeones Cup (2019) with Atlanta.
In 2023, Martínez moved to Inter Miami, where he scored 12 total goals and distributed three assists in all competitions. Two of those goals came in the U.S. Open Cup, where the Herons were finalists. An additional three goals came during Leagues Cup, where they ended up champions for Martínez’s fourth major trophy with an MLS club. In 27 MLS regular-season games that season, he scored seven goals and had one assist.
Before coming to North America, Martínez played in Italy’s Serie A for Torino FC (2014-17), scoring seven goals and dishing four assists. He also spent time in Switzerland with BSC Young Boys (2012-14) and FC Thun on loan (2013-14) after having made his professional debut with Caracas FC (2010-12) in his native Venezuela.
At international level, Martínez has earned 66 caps for Venezuela since 2011, scoring 14 goals. He has participated in three FIFA World Cup qualifying rounds and four editions of Copa América (2015, 2016, 2019, 2021).
Josef Martinez
Position: Forward
Height: 5-8
Weight: 163 lbs.
Born: May 19, 1993 (age 31)
Preferred Foot: Right
Hometown: Valencia, Venezuela
Previous Club: CF Montréal
Transaction: San Jose Earthquakes (MLS) – Earthquakes sign free agent forward Josef Martínez to a one-year contract through 2025 with a club option for 2026.
