Former Liverpool winger Ryan Kent has signed a short-term deal with the Seattle Sounders of Major League Soccer, as he looks to revive his career.
Kent, 28, joined Liverpool at the age of eight and was a promising academy graduate, but has been a free agent since October. The English winger was most recently at Fenerbahce and played under head coach Jose Mourinho, but the Turkish club announced that his contract had been terminated by mutual agreement.
After playing in England, Germany, Scotland, and Turkey, Kent will now look to impress in the U.S. and help a struggling Sounders side. Kent has signed until the end of the 2025 season, with the option of a further year through 2026.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Ryan Kent to Seattle and add him to our existing group this season,” said Sounders general manager & CSO Craig Waibel. “Ryan is a dynamic winger with top-level experience who brings pace, creativity and a dangerous attacking threat.
“His versatility and work ethic make him a great fit for our system, and we believe he can make an immediate impact and allow us to continue competing at the highest level.” Head coach Brian Schmetzer is also excited to welcome Kent into the squad, with the team needing more threats offensively.
“Ryan is a very good player with an impressive pedigree, and we’re excited to bring him into our team,” said coach Schmetzer. “He’s got real quality on the ball, is effective at taking players on and stretches opposing backlines, which should give us another dimension in the final third.
“We’re confident Ryan will integrate quickly and give us a big lift as we continue a long, grueling 2025 campaign.” The Sounders reached the Western Conference Finals in the MLS Cup Playoffs last season, but lost 1-0 to eventual champions Los Angeles Galaxy.
Seattle hasn’t won the MLS Cup since 2019, but became the first American club since the Galaxy in 2000 to win the Concacaf Champions Cup in 2022. However, the current 2025 season hasn’t started well for the Sounders, with just one win in their opening six MLS games.
The Sounders have also been eliminated from the Champions Cup, after losing to six-time champions Cruz Azul. Getting back on track in MLS is their goal until the summer, when the Sounders will compete in the FIFA Club World Cup.
Kent will face opposition such as Botofogo, Atletico Madrid, and Paris Saint-Germain in the Club World Cup, which Seattle qualified for due to their Champions Cup win in 2022. There is $125 million on offer to the winning team, as FIFA launches the new-look tournament in style.
(Image: 2017 Liverpool FC)
Although Kent failed to impress Mourinho at Fenerbahce, he has been endorsed by Brendan Rodgers, Jurgen Klopp, and Steven Gerrard in the past. Rodgers handed Kent his Liverpool debut, which remains his only appearance for the club, but Klopp re-signed him to a new long-term contract in 2017.
Kent was then signed by Gerrard when the Liverpool legend became the manager of Rangers, who initially acquired the winger on loan in 2018. Kent scored seven goals in 21 league appearances for Rangers, and was then signed on a permanent deal worth $8.4 million the following summer.
His form continued as Kent added 13 goals in all competitions in his first official season as a Rangers player, but the goals then started to dry up. Kent joined Fenerbahce in 2023 before being released last October, and now prepares for a new challenge in MLS.
