KC Current announces signing of goalkeeper who led Brazil to Olympic silver medal

Goalkeeper is a clear priority for the Kansas City Current this offseason.

That was reiterated Monday when the club announced the signing of Brazilian national team keeper Lorena da Silva Leite.

A silver medalist with Brazil at the Summer Olympics in Paris, the 27-year-old arrives from Brazilian club Grêmio for an undisclosed transfer fee.

She has signed a three-year contract through 2027 with an option for 2028, according to the Current, and will occupy an international slot on the team’s roster in 2025.

“Lorena has proven herself at the highest levels as one of the best goalkeepers in the world,” sporting director and head coach Vlatko Andonovski said in team news release about the signing. “We believe she will make our goalkeeper unit stronger and we are very excited to bring her to Kansas City.”

Lorena made her Brazil Senior National Team debut in 2021. After missing the 2023 FIFA World Cup due to injury, she played every minute for Brazil in the 2024 Olympic Tournament.

A breakout star in Paris, she kept a clean sheet in three of Brazil’s six matches in the tournament.

“I’m very happy and excited to defend Kansas City’s colors,” Lorena said in the release. “I’m sure we’ll write a beautiful story with the Current’s supporters.”

Lorena has spent all of her pro career in her home country. At the youth level, she played mostly with Grêmio and Centro Olimpico.

She signed her first pro contract with Centro Olimpico in 2016 but never appeared in a match. In 2017, she joined Sport Recife and became the starter, playing for two seasons while representing Brazil at the under-20 level.

In 2019, she transferred to Grêmio and eventually won the starting job. She had been a mainstay ever since.

Lorena and Laurel Ivory are set to be the Current’s goalkeepers for the 2025 season after KC bid farewell to former starters AD Franch and Almuth Schult. Most NWSL clubs carry three goalkeepers, though, so it would be surprising to see the Current carry fewer than that in 2025.

The Current also acquired veteran midfielder Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez from Angel City FC last week in exchange for $100k in intra-league transfer funds.

KC now has 21 players under contract. All players are due to report to the club’s training center in Riverside for camp in mid-January.

Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.

This story was originally published December 23, 2024 at 2:19 PM.