Andre Blake 💙💙💙 Philly@andreblake29 has signed a multi-year contract extension📝👉https://t.co/sCJTjQpmyl#DOOP pic.twitter.com/KnuJarYZrO
— PhilaUnion🛡 (@PhilaUnion) July 15, 2021
By Siobhan Nolan, Contributing Writer
It’s been quite the busy week for the Union! After signing sporting director Ernst Tanner to a multi-year contract extension, the club announced that they have also extended star goalkeeper Andre Blake’s contract to 2024, with a team option for 2025.
Blake, one of the most elite goalies in MLS, won Goalkeeper of the Year during the 2020 season, and was the first-choice goalie in the team that won the Supporters’ Shield during that season as well. Blake also takes the captain’s armband if Alejandro Bedoya is absent from the lineup, a testament to his leadership skills and the respect his teammates and coaches have for him.
“Andre was the backbone of the best defense in MLS last season and has been a key piece of our club’s success the past few seasons,” Tanner said in a club statement. “His high level of play has allowed us to give young defenders such as Mark McKenzie, Kai Wagner, and Olivier Mbaizo opportunities to prove themselves at the MLS level. As the rest of the league recognized last year, we have the best keeper in North America, and he is continuously getting better. While his play speaks for itself on the field, his mentality and the leadership role he has taken in our young squad has been equally as important. We are thrilled that he will remain with our club for years to come.”
Blake first signed for the Union in the 2014 MLS SuperDraft, the first goalkeeper to ever go first overall, after three years with the University of Connecticut. He holds many Union records, including most games and minutes played, most saves and clean sheets recorded, and setting the club’s single-season record for saves (118) and wins (14) in the 2018 season. He is no stranger to the MLS Goalkeeper of the Year honor, winning twice in 2016 and 2020, and finishing a finalist in 2017. He has also been named to the MLS All-Star team in 2016 and 2019.
