Sporting KC trades winger Daniel Salloi. Here’s what team is getting in return

The only constant in sports is change. And as Major League Soccer’s 2026 season approaches, Sporting Kansas City’s facelift is fully underway.

Sporting KC on Thursday announced that it has traded long-time forward Daniel Salloi to Toronto FC in exchange for $300,000 in general allocation money (GAM) and $700,000 in potential add-ons/performance-based incentives.

Speaking exclusively to The Star, Salloi acknowledged the mixed emotions he was feeling about the stunning move.

Now 29, he arrived in Kansas City more than a decade ago as an exchange student from Hungary. He leaves Kansas City’s MLS organization having made the fifth-most appearances in club history.

Going from high schooler at Blue Valley Northwest to the top of the club’s statistical charts took more than a dream — it required longevity and durability, starting with Salloi’s successful time in Sporting KC’s academy.

“To be at the same club for this many years in today’s soccer is rare,” he said. “I know that this is special.”

Sporting KC enters the 2026 MLS season with a new head coach — Raphael Wicky — and cast of new players. The rebuild in Toronto, meanwhile, has drawn in some recognizable names of its own, such as Walker Zimmerman.

Salloi will be joining Zimmerman, midseason acquisition Djordje Mihailovic and other new Toronto teammates in Dallas for the squad’s first match this weekend.

His new team will be looking for Salloi to score.

“I believe this is good for my career,” he said of the trade. “I’m excited for the project that they have in Toronto. It was very quick decision-making, and it wasn’t easy. But I think this is what’s best for me and my future.”

Salloi departs Sporting KC ranked fourth all-time in goal contributions (goals plus assists) with 114. He had 47 assists in Kansas City and is tied for third all-time on the Sporting goals chart with 67 (alongside good friend and former SKC captain Johnny Russell and former Sporting striker Dom Dwyer).

Those 67 goals include some of the biggest moments in franchise history. The 2017 U.S. Open Cup game-winner, the series clincher with a no-look shot into an empty net against Real Salt Lake in the 2018 playoffs ... and of course the clincher against St. Louis City in the 2023 postseason.

Salloi lifted trophies, was an all-star and an MVP finalist and played for his country while proudly representing Kansas City.

The series clincher against St. Louis perhaps tells Salloi’s story best. As the ball trickled over the line, he tore toward the southwest corner of the stadium.

That particular corner was filled with pink shirts and defeated faces, and Salloi stood in front of them, fingers in the corners of his mouth, drawing his smile wide like the Joker. In that moment, he relished playing the villain to his archrivals.

It was a pinnacle scene for the budding KC-STL rivalry, too. Until that postseason, Sporting KC had lacked the level of intensity that St. Louis was bringing. Salloi made sure that energy was reciprocated.

And now Salloi departs Kansas City as one of the greatest to ever wear a Sporting KC kit.

“I’m not from here,” Salloi said, “but not for a second did they make me feel like I’m not from here. They always made me feel like I was from here, and I was one of their own. This is what made Kansas City feel like home for me.

“They’ve always supported me through ups and downs, and it’s gonna be the same. I will always support them, as well. Overall, I’m just thankful.”

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

This story was originally published February 19, 2026 at 6:46 PM.