Sporting KC adds firepower — including new designated player — in reported $5 million deal
Sporting Kansas City continues to reshape its roster — acquiring three new players in a matter of three days.
Following the club’s blockbuster acquisition of Dejan Joveljic over the weekend, Sporting KC officially announced the signings of Manu Garcia and Magomed-Shapi Suleymanov from Aris Thessaloniki in Greece.
Garcia will be a designated player for Sporting KC, with a contract running through the 2027 season (club option for 2028). Suleymanov will have a contract through the 2026 season with a club option for 2027; he is not a designated player.
Both players will occupy international slots on the club’s roster.
While Sporting did not disclose the transfer fee, reports put it in the range of $5 million as a package deal. One source told The Star that Aris was initially seeking more than $4 million for Garcia alone.
Both players have had interesting journeys to date. Garcia, who hails from Oviedo in the Asturias region of northern Spain, started out in the youth academy of Sporting Gijón before joining Manchester City’s youth setup in 2013 at the age of 15.
As is typical with large clubs like Manchester City, Garcia worked up the ranks while on loan to NAC Breda in Holland and Toulouse in France before transferring to his childhood club, Sporting Gijón, in 2019. He spent a few seasons with Gijón and held one loan spell with Deportivo Alaves before joining Aris in 2022.
While he’s played all over the field, his preferred role is in the central midfield. He can operate as a lone attacking No. 10 (primarily used in a 4-2-3-1) or as one of the more attack-minded central midfielders in the 4-3-3 system that Sporting has utilized for more than a decade.
In nearly 300 career appearances, Garcia has notched 21 goals and 40 assists. Garcia has also represented Spain at the youth level and received a single senior national team call-up.
Suleymanov’s journey began in the Russian Republic of Dagestan. Recently, the region has become more famous for its UFC fighters, such as Khabib Nurmagomedov and Islam Makhachev.
Suleymanov played for a local club in Makhachkala, the capital of Dagestan, before joining the FC Krasnodar Academy at 17. He turned pro a year later, scoring eight goals in just 500 minutes in the Russian Premier League.
He has spent time in Turkey with Giresunspor and in Israel with Hapoel Beer Sheva. He moved to Aris on a permanent transfer from Krasnodar in 2023. In his career, Suleymanov has scored 52 goals and provided 44 assists.
Suleymanov has primarily played on the right wing. He cuts inside often, putting the ball on his left foot and firing a shot into the top corner. He is also an adept free-kick taker.
Sporting KC roster status
Sporting KC has now brought in seven new players this offseason and added two new designated players to help kick-start a roster overhaul.
The team recently traveled to the Palm Springs (California) area to participate in the Coachella Valley Invitational (CVI) for the final stretch of the preseason. Competitive matches begin February 18.
In addition to players under contract, Sporting has retained academy invitees Leo Christiano (DEF), Jacob Molinaro (GK), Johann Ortiz (MID), and Cielo Tschantret (MID); trialists Jan Jurcec (DEF) and Sebastian Cruz (MID); and Jansen Miller (DEF), the team’s first-round pick in the 2025 MLS SuperDraft. The team also added academy goalkeeper Beau Barren for the second leg of the preseason.
Sporting will play NYCFC in the CVI on Wednesday evening, kicking off at 5 p.m. The match will be streamed on the club’s YouTube channel.
Daniel Sperry covers soccer for The Star. He can be reached at sperry.danielkc@gmail.com.