Ryan Kent’s downfall complete as ex-Rangers star ends up in football purgatory | OneFootball

Ah, Ryan Kent. He used to set the stage alight at Rangers, dazzling with both speed and skill. Now, here we are in 2025, watching as he signs a Major League Soccer (MLS) contract with the Seattle Sounders. What must that feel like to a man who was once promised so much? To be clear, this isn’t a diatribe against MLS; it’s a decent league and better than its European detractors give it credit for. But Kent’s arc is almost an allegory for the highs and lows of a football career. It’s like those TV series that go from being “must-see” to “I can’t believe they canceled it.” Except, in this case, Kent’s career did a 180 after he left Rangers (Mackay, 2025).

Let’s hit the rewind button for a second. Kent’s time at Rangers is worth a little reminiscing. He was a key player for them as they won the Scottish Premiership in 2020-21, ending a decade of dominance by Celtic. His role in getting them to the Europa League final in 2022 shouldn’t be forgotten either, even if the team fell at the last hurdle. So, when he left for Fenerbahçe in 2022, it wasn’t just his farewell to a grand old club; it was also, somewhat perplexingly, his farewell to a grand stage—because, let’s face it, things didn’t exactly go to plan for him in Istanbul.

What’s next after getting kicked out of a foreign league? If you’re Ryan Kent, you simply throw your gear into a duffle bag, stick a comb in your back pocket, and head for the “land of opportunity”—also known as Major League Soccer (MLS)! That’s right. The Seattle Sounders, who have a long history of fielding some pretty good players, have signed Kent up, reportedly as a replacement for the injured Paul Arriola. And why not? Kent has been in need of a little TLC ever since his ill-fated and short-lived “adventure” in Turkey (Oshan, 2025).

Don’t get me wrong; joining Seattle could be just what Kent needs. This is a chance for him to regain his form and maybe even rediscover that magic he’d bottled up earlier. But even the most hopeful Sounders fans have to admit: we’re about to see whether this guy can run up and down the pitch the way he used to after what’s sure to be a grueling session of getting back into competitive shape, not to mention the work-permit hurdles that apparently need to be cleared for him to suit up for the Rave Green (Oshan, 2025). So, good luck, Ryan, and don’t expect any immediate gratification—patience, as they say, is a virtue.

Ryan Kent’s life has undeniably taken some unexpected turns lately. He’s gone from being a hero of sorts in Scotland to enduring a rocky and short-lived spell at Fenerbahçe. The Turkish job didn’t work out, and so he’s now found himself in the Pacific Northwest, donning the colors of the Seattle Sounders. Could this be the comeback story that “The Adventures of Ryan Kent” sorely needs? Because if he rediscovers his goal-scoring touch in Seattle, I’m sure we’d all be quite happy for him. If not, this becomes just another chapter in the curious case of what on earth happened to Ryan Kent.