Shapi Suleymanov

Sporting Kansas City acquired winger Shapi Suleymanov in a transfer from Greek side Aris Thessaloniki ahead of the 2025 season. In eight years as a professional, Suleymanov has recorded 55 goals and 46 assists while making over 300 appearances in Russia, Turkey, Israel and Greece.

PROFESSIONAL

Aris Thessaloniki (2023-2024):

Suleymanov was loaned from Krasnodar to Aris for the 2023-24 season and made a strong impression in his debut campaign, notching six goals and four assists across all competitions. As an integral attacking threat, he made a permanent transfer to Aris in the summer of 2024 and had one goal and one assist in his first 12 matches of the 2024-25 season.

Hapoel Be'er Sheva (2022-2023):

Suleymanov was loaned to Hapoel Be’er Sheva of the Israeli Premier League in 2022-23. He recorded five goals and five assists as a key contributor at Hapoel Be’er Sheva, where he helped the club to a second-place finish and qualification for the 2023-24 Europa League.

Giresunspor (2021-2022):

Suleymanov joined Giresunspor of the Turkish Super Lig on loan in 2021-22 where he tallied three goals and three assists as a regular starter.

FC Krasnodar (2017-2021):

Suleymanov developed in the FC Krasnodar academy and broke into the club’s first team as a 17-year-old in 2017. That summer, he marked his second career Krasnodar appearance with a 93rd-minute goal to seal a 2-1 victory over Danish side Lyngby in 2017-18 Europa League qualifying, thus becoming the youngest Russian player to score in a UEFA club competition. The same season saw Suleymanov shine for the Krasnodar U-19s as he led the 2017-18 UEFA Youth League with six assists in the tournament.

Suleymanov enjoyed a breakout season with the first team in 2018-19, finishing eighth in the Russian Premier League with eight goals and adding three goals in the Europa League, including a decisive free kick in the Round of 32 to help Krasnodar eliminate Bayer Leverkusen and a goal in the Round of 16 against Valencia. On March 31, 2019, he bagged his first Krasnodar brace to spark a 5-0 triumph over his hometown club Anzhi Makhachkala.

The following season saw Suleymanov strike twice in a 3-2 road win at Portuguese powerhouse FC Porto in the UEFA Champions League, highlighting another strong campaign in which the winger helped Krasnodar to its second consecutive third-place finish in the Russian Premier League. In 2020-21, Suleymanov again scored in the Champions League—converting in a narrow 3-2 group stage loss at Sevilla—and eclipsed five total goals for the third straight year.

INTERNATIONAL

As a Russian youth international, Suleymanov had six goals and three assists at the U-16 level from 2014 to 2015. He added two goals as a U-17 player, including one in UEFA Under-17 Championship qualifying, before making 12 appearances for the U-18s from 2016 to 2017. He continued to ascend the youth ranks with two goals for the U-19s in late 2017 and three goals for the U-21s from 2019 to 2020, including two in 2021 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying.