# 2023 Philadelphia Union season

The 2023 Philadelphia Union season was the club's fourteenth season in Major League Soccer, the top flight of American soccer. The team was managed by Jim Curtin, his tenth season with the club. The club's regular season began on February 25, 2023, and concluded on October 9. Outside of MLS, Philadelphia will participate in the U.S. Open Cup, the CONCACAF Champions League, and the Leagues Cup.

## Background

The club finished second in the Supporters' Shield standings and first in the Eastern Conference. The Union appeared in their first MLS Cup, where they lost to Shield winners Los Angeles FC in a penalty shootout.

## 2023 Roster

    As of March 2, 2025
Note: Flags indicate national team as defined under FIFA eligibility rules; some limited exceptions apply. Players may hold more than one non-FIFA nationality.
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 2 | DF | USA | Matthew Real (HGP) |
| 3 | DF | ENG | Jack Elliott |
| 5 | DF | NOR | Jakob Glesnes |
| 6 | MF | USA | Andrés Perea |
| 7 | FW | DEN | Mikael Uhre (DP) |
| 8 | MF | VEN | José Martínez |
| 9 | FW | ARG | Julián Carranza (DP) |
| 10 | MF | HUN | Daniel Gazdag |
| 11 | MF | USA | Alejandro Bedoya (Captain) |
| 12 | GK | USA | Joe Bendik |
| 13 | GK | USA | Holden Trent |
| 14 | MF | USA | Jeremy Rafanello (HGP) |
| 15 | DF | CMR | Olivier Mbaizo |
| 16 | MF | USA | Jack McGlynn (HGP) |
| 17 | DF | JAM | Damion Lowe |
| No. | Pos. | Nation | Player |
| 18 | GK | JAM | Andre Blake (GA) |
| 19 | MF | ARG | Joaquín Torres |
| 20 | MF | VEN | Jesús Bueno |
| 23 | FW | USA | Nelson Pierre (HGP) |
| 24 | DF | USA | Anton Sorenson (HGP) |
| 25 | FW | USA | Chris Donovan |
| 26 | DF | USA | Nathan Harriel (HGP) |
| 27 | DF | GER | Kai Wagner |
| 28 | FW | ISR | Tai Baribo |
| 29 | DF | RSA | Olwethu Makhanya |
| 30 | MF | USA | Paxten Aaronson (HGP) |
| 31 | MF | USA | Leon Flach |
| 33 | MF | USA | Quinn Sullivan (HGP) |
| 34 | DF | USA | Brandan Craig (HGP) |

## Transfers
### In

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred from | Fee/notes |
| December 6, 2022 | 6 | MF | Andrés Perea | Orlando City SC | $450,000 2023 GAM $300,000 2024 GAM $100,000 additional GAM |
| January 25, 2023 | 17 | DF | Damion Lowe | Inter Miami FC | $225,000 2024 Natural 1st Rnd Draft Pick HG Rights to Shanyder Borgelin |
| January 26, 2023 | 19 | MF | Joaquín Torres | CF Montréal | $500,000 Up to $300,000 additional |
| February 16, 2023 | 13 | GK | Holden Trent | Philadelphia Union II | 2023 MLS SuperDraft |
| February 21, 2023 | 23 | FW | Nelson Pierre | Philadelphia Union II | Homegrown signing |
| July 18, 2023 | 29 | DF | Olwethu Makhanya | Stellenbosch FC | Transfer, U-22 Initiative |
| August 2, 2023 | 28 | FW | Tai Baribo | Wolfsberger AC | Transfer |

### Out

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes |
| November 15, 2022 | 13 | MF | Cole Turner | Loudoun United FC | Option declined |
| November 15, 2022 | 19 | FW | Cory Burke | New York Red Bulls | Option declined |
| November 17, 2023 | 30 | MF | Paxten Aaronson | Eintracht Frankfurt | $4,000,000 Add'l incentives 20% sell-on fee |
| January 27, 2023 | 1 | GK | Matt Freese | New York City FC | $200,000 2023 GAM $150,000 2024 GAM $400,000 additional |
| February 8, 2023 | 17 | DF | Abasa Aremeyaw | MŠK Žilina Africa F.C. | Mutual consent |

### Loan Out

| Date | No. | Pos. | Player | Transferred to | Fee/notes | Source |
| August 23, 2023 | 21 | MF | Richard Odada | AaB Fodbold | Loaned out through June 2024 | |

## Competitive
### Major League Soccer
#### Standings
##### Eastern Conference

MLS Eastern Conference table (2023) :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 2 | Orlando City SC | 34 | 18 | 7 | 9 | 55 | 39 | +16 | 63 | Qualification for round one |
| 3 | Columbus Crew | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 57 | Qualification for round one |
| 4 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 55 | Qualification for round one |
| 5 | New England Revolution | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for round one |
| 6 | Atlanta United FC | 34 | 13 | 9 | 12 | 66 | 53 | +13 | 51 | Qualification for round one |

##### Overall table

Overall MLS standings table :
| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification |
| 3 | Columbus Crew (C) | 34 | 16 | 9 | 9 | 67 | 46 | +21 | 57 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round of 16 |
| 4 | St. Louis City SC | 34 | 17 | 12 | 5 | 62 | 45 | +17 | 56 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 5 | Philadelphia Union | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 57 | 41 | +16 | 55 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 6 | New England Revolution | 34 | 15 | 9 | 10 | 58 | 46 | +12 | 55 | Qualification for the CONCACAF Champions Cup Round One |
| 7 | Seattle Sounders FC | 34 | 14 | 9 | 11 | 41 | 32 | +9 | 53 | Qualification for the U.S. Open Cup Round of 32 |
* ↑ As 2023 MLS Cup champions
* ↑ As 2023 Western Conference regular season champions
* ↑ As 2023 Leagues Cup third place
* ↑ As second highest-ranked club in 2023 MLS Supporters' Shield not already qualified
* ↑ As one of the top seven teams in the overall table to not qualify for the 2024 CONCACAF Champions Cup

### Leagues Cup
#### Group stage
##### Standings

| Pos | Teamvte | Pld | W | PW | PL | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification | PHI | QFC | TIJ |
| 1 | Philadelphia Union | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 2 | +6 | 6 | Advance to knockout stage | — | 5–1 | 3–1 |
| 2 | Querétaro | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 2 | 5 | −3 | 3 | Advance to knockout stage | — | — | — |
| 3 | Tijuana | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | −3 | 0 | | — | 0–1 | — |