MLS: Free agent Jonathan Mensah joins New England Revolution

Ghana international, Jonathan Mensah has joined Major League side New England Revolution as a free agent after leaving the San Jose Earthquakes.

The MLS Cup winner and former MLS Best XI selection, joins the Revolution on a one-year contract for the 2024 MLS with an additional one-year option for 2025. 

Mensah arrives in New England with seven seasons of MLS experience, including a six-year tenure with the Columbus Crew from 2017-2022. Under the guidance of New England’s new head coach, Caleb Porter, Mensah helped Columbus win the 2020 MLS Cup title, playing every minute of the regular season and playoffs and earning MLS Best XI recognition. He then went on to help the Crew win the Campeones Cup in 2021, before setting a career high with 30 starts during the 2022 campaign. Ahead of the 2023 campaign, Mensah joined the San Jose Earthquakes, where the 33-year-old made 26 appearances, with 21 starts, to help San Jose reach the postseason. 

“Jonathan Mensah is an experienced defender with a long history of success in our league and at the international level, and someone who knows firsthand what it takes to win an MLS Cup,” Sporting Director Curt Onalfo said. “Adding Jonathan to our already talented group of central defenders gives us the depth required to field a strong team in every competition as we navigate a busy schedule.” 

The central defender, who donned the captain’s armband in Columbus, was named the Crew’s Defender of the Year three consecutive times from 2018-2020. In total, Mensah has accumulated 185 regular season appearances, 176 of them starts, with seven goals and three assists, plus an additional 13 starts in the MLS Cup Playoffs. As the founder of the Jonathan Mensah Foundation, he was also honored as the club’s Humanitarian of the Year in 2017. 

“Jonathan is a person of the utmost character who embodies strong leadership qualities. During our time together in Columbus, he is someone my staff and I could depend on each and every week, bringing a professionalism and passion to the pitch,” Head Coach Caleb Porter said. “Jonathan knows what it takes to win a championship and will bolster our center back depth and bring a positive presence to the locker room.”

The Ghana native began his professional career in his home country with Ashanti Gold after rising through the club’s academy setup. Mensah earned his pro debut with Ashanti Gold as a teenager during the 2007-08 campaign, before subsequent stints with South African club Free State Stars (2008-2009), Italian club Udinese (2010-2011), French side Evian (2011-2016), and Russian Premier Leaue club Anzhi Makhachkala (2016). With Evian, he totaled 44 appearances in France’s Ligue 1 between 2011-15. Mensah also spent time on loan in Spain with Granada between 2009-11, seeing action in 15 Segunda División contests. 

On the international stage, Mensah has won 70 caps with the Ghana Men’s National Team, including six appearances in FIFA World Cup play. Mensah is a two-time World Cup participant, helping the Black Stars reach the quarterfinal round in South Africa in 2010 before posting three appearances in group stage play in Brazil in 2014. Mensah previously represented Ghana at the Under-20 level, helping the Black Stars win the 2009 African Youth Championship and the 2009 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

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