A true MLS icon, Kei Kamara has decided it's time to hang up his cleats for good, two decades after first joining the league.
The 41-year-old former Sierra Leone international spent most of last season with FC Cincinnati , failing to find the back of the net in 22 appearances across all competitions.
Regardless, Kamara retires as the MLS's second leading goal scorer to date with 147 in 461 games for 12 different teams. He steps aside just 24 goals behind former U.S. Men's National Team striker Chris Wondolowski .
Kamara won two U.S. Open Cups during his storied career -Credit:Melinda Meijer/ISI Photos/Getty Images
Kamara announced his decision to retire via a video shared on social media. Captioned "#ThankYou #AmSoBlessed #HeartShapedhands," the clip sees Kamara at the Kansas City Current's CPKC Stadium, picking up his cleats and kissing them before being reunited with his family on the field.
"I never played for just one crest. I played for the love of the game and the places it carried me," he said. "From Sierra Leone to America, 20 years of chasing something bigger. Goals fade, records fade, but what you carry forward, that stays."
As he and his family then walk towards a scoreboard which reads "Thank you" along with the heart-shaped hands emoji, Kamara is asked by his one of his three children, "Dad, where are we going now?" To which he replies, "We're going home."
The video ends with the caption, "Thank you, football. Kei Kamara. 06' - 26'. God Bless."
The home of the NWSL's Current was a fitting place to make his announcement, given that his 122 appearances for Sporting Kansas City are the most he made for any single club by far.
During his time with Kansas City, Kamara won two Eastern Conference titles and one of his two career U.S. Open Cups.
His best was still to come, however, being named to the MLS Best XI for the first and only time in his career in 2015 after rejoining the Columbus Crew , having also led the MLS in goals scored that season along with Sebastian Giovinco , before leading the MLS Cup Playoffs in goals that year.
The Crew went on to lose the Cup final 2-1 to the Portland Timbers , with Kamara scoring Kansas City's lone goal.
A two-time MLS All-Star, Kamara would go on to win his second U.S. Open Cup in 2024 with LAFC , marking his last major trophy.
While Kamara retires having spent the vast majority of his career in the U.S., he did also venture abroad, spending part of the 2012-2013 Premier League season on loan with Norwich City, before spending the next year in the Championship with Middlesbrough.
Kamara is perhaps most well-known for his time with Sporting Kansas City -Credit:Peter G. Aiken/Getty Images
In 2021, Kamara returned to Europe, briefly joining Finnish side HIFK Fotboll, before once again heading back to the U.S.
As for his international career, Kamara made 45 appearances between 2008 and 2025 for Sierra Leone, scoring eight goals and appearing in one Africa Cup of Nations tournament.
