KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Sporting Kansas City and forward Alan Pulido have agreed to a new three-year Designated Player contract, which will keep the Mexican striker with the club through the 2026 season.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Pulido, 32, has 29 goals and 11 assists in 61 matches since joining Sporting KC before the 2020 season.
He commanded the largest transfer fee in club history when he left Chivas Guadalajara for Sporting KC after winning the 2019 Liga MX Apertura Golden Boot.
Pulido, who missed all of the 2022 season after knee surgery, currently is tied for second in the MLS Golden Boot race with 13 goals in 23 regular-season games. He trails Nashville SC’s Hany Mukhtar by one goal.
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With four two-goal games in a 10-game stretch from June 10 to Sept. 3, Pulido cemented his status as one of the most-prolific goal-scorers in Sporting KC history.
Pulido, who was the MLS Player of the Month for June, will be a strong candidate for MLS Comeback Player of the Year.
Since his arrival, Sporting KC is 28-16-12 (.607 win percentage) in MLS play when Pulido is on the field and 20-28-13 (.434 win percentage) when he’s not, averaging more than a half-goal more per game.
Pulido recorded team-highs with six goals and five assists in 12 matches during the COVID-19-shortened 2020 season, his first with Sporting KC, and added eight goals and two assists in 21 appearances in 2021 before a season-ending knee injury.
Pulido also previously played for UANL Tigres in Liga MX in addition to Chivas and spent two seasons in Greece’s Super League with Levadiakos and Olympiacos.
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