The central midfielder joins the Red and Blacks after spending last season captaining FC Schalke 04 to the top of the 2. Bundesliga table, securing the club’s return to the German Bundesliga, the top flight of German football. During his time at Schalke, the Icelandic International played 28 games and racked up three assists. Pálsson joined Schalke on July 1, 2021 from SV Darmstadt 98, also from the Bundesliga second division, where he spent the previous two seasons and appeared in 67 games, scoring six goals and assisting seven others.
“I am delighted that we have been able to secure Victor’s services. He is a great professional and leader who will bring a lot of much-needed steel and quality to the middle of the park,” said Lucy Rushton, DC United General Manager. “He plays with tenacity and bite, but also with composure and intelligence on both sides of the ball. His experiences playing across Europe, as well as his competitive and winning attitude, will improve us as a club and have a positive effect on the culture and attitude of the whole team.”
Pálsson’s professional career began in 2009 in the English Premier League, where he was captain of the Liverpool FC reserve team. In November 2010, he was loaned out to English League One club Dagenham & Redbridge, where he made three first-team appearances. In January 2011, Pálsson signed an 18-month deal with Scottish Premier League club Hibernian. The midfielder made 31 appearances before transferring to Major League Soccer club New York Red Bulls. The Icelandic international spent one season in MLS before moving to Dutch Eredivisie club NEC Nijmegen, where he played from 2012 to 2014. Following his time in the Eredivisie, Pálsson played for Swedish club Helsinborgs IF for two seasons from 2014- 2015, Danish club Esbjerg fB for three seasons (2015-2017) and then Swiss club FC Zurich for three years until 2019 where he made five UEFA Europa League appearances and scored a goal in a 1-0 win against Ludogorets Razgrad.
On the international stage, Pálsson made his debut for the Icelandic National Team in a 1-0 win against Estonia in a friendly on June 4, 2014. He has earned 29 caps for the National Team and has competed in the World Cup Qualifiers. FIFA World Cup, Euro Qualifiers and the UEFA Nations League. He scored his first goal for Iceland against Lichtenstein on March 31, 2021 in a World Cup qualifying match.
Date of Birth: April 30, 1991
Previous club: Schalke-04
Condition: designated player
Transaction: DC United has signed midfielder Victor Pálsson as a designated player on a permanent transfer from FC Schalke 04 pending receipt of his P-1 visa and International Transfer Certificate (ITC). The Red and Blacks signed Pálsson until 2024 with a club option in 2025.
One of the founding clubs of Major League Soccer in 1996, DC United is among the most decorated teams in the United States with 13 domestic and international trophies.
DC United has called the District home for the past 26 seasons and plays its home games at Audi Field in the Buzzard Point neighborhood of Southwest, Washington, DC, which opened in 2018. In addition to DC United games, the 20,000-seat soccer stadium a dedicated stadium hosts more than 100 events throughout the year, including the district’s premier arts, food and music festival, Unite the District Fest. Audi Field will soon be home to America’s number one sports book through a partnership with FanDuel Group.
The Red and Blacks have won the MLS Cup four times (1996, 1997, 1999 and 2004), the Supporters’ Shield four times (1997, 1999, 2006 and 2007) and the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup three times (1996, 2008 and 2013).
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