ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. – The Tampa Bay Rowdies announced on Thursday the club had signed veteran forward Ariel Martinez ahead of the 2023 USL Championship season. The transaction is pending league and federation approval.

“I am very happy because this is a team that has the right mentality and it’ll help my mentality grow as well,” said Martinez. “I am going to be around players who have the same mentality as mine and the same hunger as mine. In the last few seasons, the title has slipped away from Tampa Bay, and I am here to help the club reach that goal. Personally, that is my goal, and what better way to do that than to be in the right place and with the right people.”

Martinez spent the 2022 season with fellow USL Championship club Hartford Athletic, where he bagged a team-leading nine goals in 22 appearances. Prior to joining Hartford, the 36-year-old attacker had also played in the Championship for the Charleston Battery, FC Tulsa, and Miami FC. Martinez has netted 17 goals and 11 assists across 69 appearances in his time in the USL Championship.

“Ariel is a real creative player,” said Rowdies Head Coach Neill Collins. “Whenever we faced him, I felt we always had to be mindful of him. His desire to come here and his desire to be a part of a team that wants to achieve success played a big part in his signing. Ariel is a player that can play in a lot of positions, but he really does the most important things, and that’s creating and scoring goals.”

Born in Sancti Spíritus, Cuba, Martinez has a robust resume for his home country on the international stage, notching 34 goals in 55 starts. Martinez defected from Cuba during the 2015 Concacaf Gold Cup and went on to make his American debut with Charleston later that year. Between 2016 and 2019 Martinez played for Miami FC, recording 23 goals and 16 assists.