Field Level Media
15 Jan 2022, 09:25 GMT+10
Step aside Freddy Adu. Major League Soccer has a new youngest-ever player.
Real Salt Lake signed 14-year-old forward Axel Kei to a homegrown contract on Friday, giving him a two-year deal.
Kei is 14 years, 15 days old. Adu was 153 days older when he signed with D.C. United in 2004 after he was selected first overall in the MLS SuperDraft.
An Ivory Coast native, Kei grew up in Brazil, where his father was a professional soccer player. The family moved to San Diego in 2017.
Kei has been part of the Real Salt Lake academy, leading its under-15 team to a championship in 2021 when he was the tournament's leading scorer.
Kei made history on Oct. 8 when he appeared for the Real Monarchs of a USL Championship, the next tier of soccer below MLS in the United States. He was 13 years, 8 months and 9 days old, reportedly making him the youngest athlete to play for a pro sports team in the United States.
"Over the last year Axel has proven to be one of the top attacking prospects in the country," Real Salt Lake general manager Elliot Fall said in a statement. "His propensity in front of goal is well beyond his years, and coupled with his elite athleticism, he projects to become a goal-scoring force in our league in the years to come."
Adu was hailed as a future superstar when he made his MLS debut, but he wound up with just 11 goals in 87 games for D.C. United. He wound up playing for teams around the world but never achieved anything approaching the success that was predicted.
--Field Level MediaGet a daily dose of Paris Guardian news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Paris Guardian.
More InformationLONDON, U.K.: At least 13 people are believed to have taken their own lives as a result of the U.K.'s Post Office scandal, in which...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: Travelers at U.S. airports will no longer need to remove their shoes during security screenings, Department of Homeland...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: An elaborate impersonation scheme involving artificial intelligence targeted senior U.S. and foreign officials in...
SLUBICE, Poland: Poland reinstated border controls with Germany and Lithuania on July 7, following Germany's earlier reintroduction...
WASHINGTON, D.C.: After months of warnings from former federal officials and weather experts, the deadly flash floods that struck the...
MOSCOW, Russia: Just hours after his sudden dismissal by President Vladimir Putin, Russia's former transport minister, Roman Starovoit,...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak will return to Goldman Sachs in an advisory role, the Wall Street...
LONDON, U.K.: Physically backed gold exchange-traded funds recorded their most significant semi-annual inflow since the first half...
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands: Some 32 percent of global semiconductor production could face climate change-related copper supply disruptions...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks rebounded Tuesday with all the major indices gaining ground. Markets in the UK, Europe and Canada...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: Financial markets kicked off the week on a cautious note as President Donald Trump rolled out a fresh round...
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil: At a two-day summit over the weekend, the BRICS bloc of emerging economies issued a joint declaration condemning...