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Sporting KC re-signs team veterans Graham Zusi, Roger Espinoza, Andreu Fontas

Graham Zusi
Posted at 11:22 AM, Dec 02, 2022
and last updated 2022-12-02 12:22:49-05

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Graham Zusi won't be leaving Sporting Kansas City just yet.

The team announced Friday morning defender Zusi, midfielder Roger Espinoza and defender Andreu Fontas have all re-signed.

Zusi and Espinoza agreed to one-year contracts for 2023 that include options for 2024, while Fontas re-signed on a two-year deal.

After 14 seasons, and much speculation around possible retirement, Zusi returns to the Children's Mercy Park pitch having made 395 match appearances. In his decade-plus with the team, he has scored 35 goals, made 89 assists and won four major championships.

His tenure with the club is the longest of a player with one team in MLS history, per Sporting KC.

Espinoza, a 13-year veteran with the club, has also been a familiar face among Sporting fans.

The 36-year-old has scored 14 goals in 28,220 minutes of play during his two stints with the team.

Joining the club in 2008, Espinoza left in 2012 to move abroad for a two-year spell in the English Premier League. He returned to Kansas City in 2015 and has been with the team since.

Fontas has been respected as a "backline staple" for the past two seasons.

His stand-out 2022 season ended with him being awarded Sporting's Defender of the Year honor for the second year in a row. During the campaign, he started in 31 of 32 competitions, including being a driving force in helping the club reach the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinals.

Before his time with KC, Fontas played in his home country Spain.

Until MLS soccer returns, fans can catch the U.S. Men's National Team in the World Cup at 9 a.m. Saturday. USMNT takes on the Netherlands in the round of 16.