“I never played for just one crest, I played for the love of the game,” says Sierra Leone and Major League Soccer legend, Kei Ansu Kamara in his retirement message from professional football.
The MLS legend, bows out with 147 goals-becoming the league’s second-best top scorer.
The 41-year-old made the news official on social media, capping a remarkable career that spanned 20 years and a record 12 MLS clubs.
Aside from his MLS legacy, Kamara becomes the first Sierra Leonean player to score a Premier League goal after he played in England for Middlesbrough and Norwich City, as well as HIFK Fotboll in Finland.
Internationally, Kamara scored eight goals in 45 matches for Sierra Leone and captained the Leone Stars team during the FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
“From Sierra Leone to America, 20 years of chasing something bigger,” Kamara said. “Goals fade, records fade. But what you carry forward, that stays.”
Kamara’s iconic career began in 2006 as a first-round SuperDraft pick (No. 9 overall) by the Columbus Crew.
He also played for Chicago Fire FC, Colorado Rapids, Houston Dynamo FC, LAFC, Minnesota United FC, CF Montréal, New England Revolution, San Jose Earthquakes, Sporting Kansas City and Vancouver Whitecaps FC before his final stint with FC Cincinnati during the 2025 MLS season.
In the 2015 MLS Best XI selection, Kamara was also a two-time MLS All-Star who won two US Open Cup titles.
His 464 regular-season appearances are third all-time for field players in MLS history, trailing only Dax McCarty (488) and Kyle Beckerman (498).