NYCFC sporting director David Lee announced that he will leave the club on Monday to join Sporting Kansas City as their president of soccer operations and general manager.
Over his 11-year tenure at the helm of City’s football operations, Lee oversaw a 2021 MLS Cup win, a 2022 Campeones Cup win, and the team’s debut in the 2020 CONCACAF Champions League. In the COVID-disrupted season, the Boys in Blue were knocked out in the quarterfinals by Mexican side Tigres UANL.
“After joining NYCFC in 2014 as one of the first employees and working in various roles for more than a decade, I have decided to accept a significant new challenge with Sporting Kansas City,” said Lee in a statement from the club. “This was an incredibly difficult decision to make, but I believe ultimately, this is the right time for me and my family.”
Lee was promoted from his previous technical director role, replacing Claudio Reyna. Reyna also left the club to join another team, Austin FC. Lee also supervised the tenures of MLS Cup-winning coach Ronny Deila and his replacement and former assistant, Nick Cushing. The Englishman earned the role after an interim period when Deila left for Belgian giants Standard Liege.
Lee also oversaw the development and integration of 14 of the Pigeon’s 17 homegrown players into the first team, including Joe Scally and Tayvon Gray, the latter being a mainstay in current head coach Pascal Jansen’s matchday squad.
“Playing a part in growing this amazing club from the ground up has been a truly unique opportunity and a tremendous honor,” Lee said. “Together we created one of the most consistently high-performing teams in MLS, and winning our first MLS Cup in 2021 will always be one of the proudest moments of my career and one of the highlights of my life.”
However, it was not all sunshine and rainbows under Lee. The club missed its first MLS Cup playoffs in 2023, which was Cushing’s first full season. Joint-club record signing Alexandru Mitriță was allowed to leave on a free transfer back to Romanian team CS Universitatea Craiova. Mitriță was reported to have signed for $9.1 million from Craoiva in 2019, the same amount as summer signing Nicolás Fernández Mercau.
Cult hero Talles Magno, who scored the winner against Philadelphia Union in the conference finals of the championship year, was loaned back to Brazil after reported disputes with Cushing.
Fans may not be too sad to see Lee move west, but he has left the club in a good position for whoever is next in line. The Boys in Blue are within the top four in the Eastern Conference with two matches left to play, and have most recently knocked out cross-town rivals the Red Bulls in a 3-2 thriller last Saturday night.
One of Lee’s last key decisions was hiring Jansen at the end of the 2024 season, with CEO Brad Sims lauding the hire.
The club has not announced replacements yet.
