Sporting Kansas City announced Tuesday that forward Latif Blessing has obtained his U.S. green card and no longer occupies an international spot on the club's roster.
In his first season with Sporting KC, Blessing recorded six goals and two assists in 31 matches across all competitions. The 20-year-old Ghanaian scored three times in Sporting KC's run to the 2017 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup title, including the go-ahead goal in a 2-1 championship victory over the New York Red Bulls on Sept. 20. He made 25 regular-season appearances and started in Sporting KC's extra-time defeat at the Houston Dynamo in the Western Conference Knockout Round of the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs.
Sporting KC now has 25 players under contract for 2018, three of whom are international players: midfielder Cristian Lobato, midfielder James Musa and forward Daniel Salloi.
On Monday, Sporting KC exercised contract options on 11 players while declining options on four players. In addition, defender Erik Palmer-Brown and forward Cameron Porter are no longer under contract with the club.
Sporting KC players under contract in 2018
Contract terms as of Nov. 27, 2017
| Goalkeepers | ||
| Player | Contract Ends | Options |
| Andrew Dykstra | 2018 | none |
| Tim Melia | 2018 | none |
| Adrian Zendejas | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
| Defenders | ||
| Player | Contract Ends | Options |
| Saad Abdul-Salaam | 2018 | none |
| Matt Besler | 2018 | none |
| Amer Didic | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
| Kevin Ellis | 2018 | none |
| Jaylin Lindsey | 2021 | 2022 |
| Ike Opara | 2018 | 2019 |
| Seth Sinovic | 2018 | none |
| Colton Storm | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
| Graham Zusi | 2018 | none |
| Midfielders | ||
| Players | Contract Ends | Options |
| Roger Espinoza | 2018 | none |
| Benny Feilhaber | 2018 | none |
| Ilie | 2018 | 2019 |
| Cristian Lobato | 2018 | 2019 |
| Jimmy Medranda | 2019 | 2020 |
| James Musa | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
| Forwards | ||
| Player | Contract Ends | Options |
| Kharlton Belmar | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
| Latif Blessing | 2019 | 2020 |
| Gianluca Busio | 2020 | 2021, 2022 |
| Gerso | 2019 | 2020 |
| Diego Rubio | 2018 | 2019 |
| Soony Saad | 2018 | 2019 |
| Daniel Salloi | 2018 | 2019, 2020 |
