TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Retired
Columbus Crew midfielder Perry Kitchen has retired from professional soccer, he announced Wednesday.
The 30-year-old relayed the news in a statement on his official Twitter account, citing an August 2021 back injury that resulted in nerve damage in his right leg as the impetus for the announcement.
"Over the last 14 months I have tirelessly rehabbed, but my body has not recovered to the level it needs to perform," Kitchen wrote. "It is with that, that I announce my retirement from professional soccer."
Kitchen's retirement bookends an MLS career that spanned over a decade, starting with his 2011 arrival to D.C. United as the third-overall selection of that year's MLS SuperDraft out of the University of Akron. He would go on to become a stalwart for the Black-and-Red, making 158 appearances and scoring 10 goals.
After heading overseas for stints in Scotland and Denmark, Kitchen returned to MLS in 2018 with the LA Galaxy, where he was once again a reliable cog in midfield, totaling 65 all-competition appearances before departing for Columbus in 2021. He made five appearances for the Crew last season before getting shut down with the back injury.
Kitchen also featured for the United States at the U17, U20 and U23 levels, eventually getting the first of his five senior USMNT caps in 2015.
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