Ilie Sánchez


Ilie Sánchez Farrés, known simply as Ilie, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for American club Sporting Kansas City.

Club career

Barcelona B

Born in Barcelona, Catalonia, Ilie represented several clubs as a youth, including FC Barcelona from ages 7–9, returning to La Masia in 2007. In the 2009–10 season he made his professional debuts in the third division, contributing with 22 matches as the B-team returned to the second level after an 11-year absence.
Mainly a defensive midfielder, Ilie was reconverted by manager Luis Enrique, a former Barcelona player, into right back. He was also called by Pep Guardiola for the first team's pre-season in 2010.

1860 Munich

On 11 June 2014, both Ilie and teammate Edu Bedia signed for TSV 1860 Munich of the 2. Bundesliga. He made his league debut for the club in the season opener, a 2–3 away defeat to 1. FC Kaiserslautern, and scored his first goal on 26 September to help to a 2–0 home success against SpVgg Greuther Fürth.
Sánchez was deemed surplus to requirements by manager Torsten Fröhling at the start of the 2015–16 campaign, and on 31 August he was loaned to Elche CF in the Spanish second tier. Shortly after his return to his parent club, his contract was mutually annulled.

Sporting Kansas City

On 13 January 2017, Ilie moved to Major League Soccer club Sporting Kansas City on a two-year deal. In September of that year, he earned a U.S. green card which qualified him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.
Ilie was named to the All-Star team at the end of the 2018 season in recognition of his play, notably ranking in the top five in nearly every passing and midfield statistic or metric.

Career statistics

Sporting Kansas City
Individual