Throughout his club career, he played for Aston Villa, Manchester United, Blackburn Rovers, Birmingham City, Sydney FC and Sunderland, mainly as a forward, between 1998 and 2009.

After retiring from playing in 2009, Yorke became assistant manager of the Trinidad and Tobago national team, a position he held until the completion of the qualifying matches for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

During his time with Aston Villa, from 1989 to 1998, Yorke played initially as a right winger until the 1995–96 season, he then switched to centre forward and established himself as one of the Premier League's top strikers.

John Gregory, Aston Villa's manager at that time, made it known that the club did not want to sell Yorke to Manchester United unless they were prepared to exchange striker Andy Cole.

Yorke played for Villa on the opening day of the season at Everton on 15 August 1998, however it appeared he made little effort during the match as he was unhappy at not being allowed to leave the club.

[citation needed] Despite a less successful third season, Yorke scored his 100th Premier League goal in a 3-0 victory over Derby County on 24 November 2000[7] and also netted a hat-trick in the top of the table clash with Arsenal.

[10] He was signed to cover the long absence of Matt Jansen from a traffic accident, and was reunited with his former United strike partner Andy Cole.

[10] Yorke scored 13 goals in all competitions in his first season at Ewood Park, including the winner on 26 October 2002 as Rovers won 2–1 at reigning champions Arsenal.

[13] On 11 May, in the last game of the season, he opened a 4–0 win at Tottenham Hotspur as Blackburn beat Everton to sixth place and UEFA Cup qualification.

[16] Yorke scored on his home debut for Birmingham in a 1–1 draw against Charlton Athletic, with the equaliser seven minutes after replacing Clinton Morrison.

[citation needed] He played a major role in leading Sydney FC to victory in the inaugural A-League Grand Final on 5 March against regional rivals Central Coast Mariners.

He set up the only goal, scored by Steve Corica, in front of a sell out crowd of over 41,000 at the Sydney Football Stadium, and was awarded the Joe Marston Medal as best player in the grand final.

[citation needed] Due to the schedule of football in Australia, Yorke returned to Manchester United for training from March to June 2006, to retain fitness for the World Cup.

It was reported that Yorke play for rivals Central Coast Mariners, the team bankrolled by the man who brought him to Sydney, Peter Turnbull.

Along with his friend Russell Latapy, Yorke was a member of the 1989 'Strike Squad', the national team which narrowly failed to qualify for the 1990 FIFA World Cup.

[33] He retired from international football in 2001 after a disagreement with coach René Simões, who cut Yorke and Russell Latapy from the squad prior to a decisive game of the 2002 World Cup qualification, as both missed practice following a night partying.

[35] Yorke was captain for all of Trinidad and Tobago's games at the 2006 World Cup and was man of the match in the 0–0 draw against Sweden, pipping his close friend Shaka Hislop to the honour despite the then West Ham goalkeeper making several world-class saves.

He was one of six players in the Trinidad squad (the others being Brent Sancho, Dennis Lawrence, Chris Birchall, Carlos Edwards and Stern John) to have played every minute of the campaign.

His goal was a crucial tie-breaker scored in the 79th minute, which put Trinidad and Tobago in a great situation to advance to the next qualifying stage, needing only a tie against Cuba in their final game.

On 11 February 2009, Yorke scored a 26th-minute penalty for his country, but was sent off in the dying seconds of Trinidad and Tobago's opening match of 2010 World Cup qualification against El Salvador (2–2) after exchanging heated remarks with Mexican referee Marco Antonio Rodríguez (the Trini star had voiced his disapproval of the disruptions caused by the home crowd) and was consequently banned for four games due to his use of abusive language.

[40] After being released from Sunderland and being unable to find a club before the end of the current transfer window, Yorke retired from football altogether in September 2009, and took up the post of assistant manager with the Trinidad and Tobago national team.

[citation needed] As a member of the squad that competed at the 2006 World Cup, Yorke was awarded the Chaconia Medal (Gold Class), the second highest state decoration of Trinidad and Tobago.