- Former Rangers winger Ryan Kent remains without a club after Seattle Sounders exit in December.
- Kent starred at Ibrox but failed to impress during spells in Turkey and MLS.
- At 29, concerns are growing that Kent’s once-promising career is fading rapidly.
Ex-Ibrox winger Ryan Kent remains without a club more than six months after his departure from Seattle Sounders, a sobering development for a player who once appeared destined to operate at the very highest level following his explosive rise at Rangers.
At his peak, Kent was one of the most electrifying players Scottish football had seen in years.
The winger initially arrived at Ibrox on loan from Liverpool in 2018 before Rangers paid £7 million to make the move permanent a year later, then a substantial outlay in Scottish football terms. The investment looked justified almost immediately.
Since then Rangers have only spent more on Youssef Chermiti, paying £10 million for the striker last summer.
Kent became central to Steven Gerrard’s rebuild, combining technical quality, acceleration and unpredictability in a Rangers side that steadily re-established itself domestically and in Europe.
He would help deliver the 2021 Premiership title, ending Celtic’s pursuit of ten-in-a-row, before lifting the Scottish Cup the following season.
His contribution during Rangers’ run to the 2022 Europa League final under Giovanni van Bronckhorst arguably represented the peak of his career.
Ryan Kent Ibrox departure
Across five years at Ibrox, Kent produced 33 goals and 56 assists in 218 appearances, while also becoming one of the defining personalities of that era alongside Allan McGregor and Alfredo Morelos.
When he departed in 2023, his emotional farewell reflected the connection he had built with the club and support.
“Thank you to all the Rangers fans,” Kent wrote at the time.
“My time at Ibrox is something I will remember for the rest of my life.
“As a Liverpool academy player, I followed Steven and Mick [Beale] on loan – but that soon became five years as I immediately fell in love with the club and fans and have made some memories that I will look back on with great happiness.
“I will forever carry Rangers in my heart.”
At the time, Kent’s departure felt less like an ending and more like the natural progression of a player expected to continue climbing.
Instead, his career has drifted sharply.
Ryan Kent post-Rangers decline
An 18-month spell in Turkiye with Fenerbahce failed to establish momentum, with the winger struggling for consistency before eventually seeing his contract terminated.
A subsequent move to Major League Soccer with Seattle Sounders FC offered the opportunity for reset and stability, but that spell also ended abruptly.
Seattle general manager Craig Waibel delivered a notably blunt assessment when discussing Kent’s future at the club following the 2025 MLS season.
“We had a conversation with Ryan,” Waibel said.
“There’s just not going to be a role for him here next year. That door is closed.”
Since leaving Seattle at the expiration of his contract in December, Kent has remained a free agent.
At only 29, that reality feels increasingly striking.
Readrangers.com analysis – Jack Cranmer
This is not a player physically beyond the modern game, nor one without pedigree. Kent played regularly in European knockout football, delivered title-winning performances and operated within high-pressure environments for much of his career.
Yet football careers can flatten quickly once momentum disappears.
For wingers particularly, rhythm, confidence and output often determine longevity as much as raw ability.
Kent once played with a conviction that made defenders retreat instinctively. Over time, however, the decisiveness faded, his productivity slowed and the sense of upward trajectory disappeared alongside it.
There will still be clubs capable of seeing value in his experience and technical quality, particularly given his age profile. But the contrast between where Kent once appeared to be heading and where he now finds himself is difficult to ignore.
He once looked like a player preparing for Europe’s elite level during his peak years under Gerrard.
Now, less than three years after leaving Ibrox, one of the most gifted figures of that era remains searching for a route back into the game before his career slips permanently into stagnation.
