Latif Atta Blessing (born 30 December 1996) is a Ghanaian professional footballer who plays as a midfielder or forward for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.
Personal information | |||
---|---|---|---|
Full name | Latif Atta Blessing | ||
Date of birth | (1996-12-30) 30 December 1996 (age 25) | ||
Place of birth | Accra, Ghana | ||
Height | 5 ft 7 in (1.70 m)[1] | ||
Position(s) | Midfielder, forward | ||
Club information | |||
Current team | Los Angeles FC | ||
Number | 7 | ||
Youth career | |||
2013–2014 | Liberty Professionals | ||
Senior career* | |||
Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
2014–2016 | Liberty Professionals | 21 | (17) |
2017 | Sporting Kansas City | 25 | (3) |
2017 | → Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 1 | (1) |
2018– | Los Angeles FC | 145 | (14) |
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 14:32, 22 October 2022 (UTC) |
Blessing was born in Nankese, a small village in the Suhum-Kraboa-Coaltar District of southeast Ghana.
In 2013, Latif Blessing joined the Liberty Professionals youth team in Accra.[2] He was soon promoted to the senior club for the Ghana Premier League but mainly appeared on the bench for the side.[2] Blessing received particularly good reviews for his performance during a Premier League match against Asante Kotoko on 21 June 2015. In that match, he scored in the 21st minute to equalize before providing two assists, leading Liberty Professionals to a 3–1 victory.[3]
During the 2016 season, Blessing scored six goals in his first eight games.[2] After his hat-trick on the final day of the season against Bechem United, Blessing would go on to finish the season as the top scorer in the league with 17 goals.[4] His performance during the season was recognized in December 2016 when Blessing won the best player of the league award by the Ghana Football Association.[5]
In January 2017, Blessing signed with Sporting Kansas City of Major League Soccer.[6][7] He made his MLS debut on 11 March 2017 against FC Dallas.[8] On 24 March 2017, Blessing was loaned to Swope Park Rangers, scoring in their match against OKC Energy FC.[9][10] Blessing's first MLS goals came in a brace on 13 May 2017 in a 2–2 draw in Orlando versus Orlando City.[11] On 20 September 2017, Blessing scored in the 2017 U.S. Open Cup Final, as Sporting Kansas City won the 2017 U.S. Open Cup.[12]
In December 2017, Blessing was selected by Los Angeles FC with the second selection of the 2017 MLS Expansion Draft. He made his debut for the club as a starter in their first MLS match, a 1–0 victory at Seattle Sounders.
Blessing was included in the provisional squad for Ghana before the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations but failed to make the final cut.[13]
Blessing holds a U.S. green card which qualifies him as a domestic player for MLS roster purposes.[14]
Blessing's brother, Ibrahim Fuseini, currently plays for Lori FC in the Armenian Premier League.[15] He has a twin sister, Latifa.[16]
Club | Season | League | Domestic cup | League cup | Continental | Total | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
Liberty Professionals | 2016 | GPL | 21 | 17 | — | — | — | 21 | 17 | |||
Liberty Professionals Totals | 21 | 17 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 21 | 17 | ||
Sporting Kansas City | 2017 | MLS | 25 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | — | 31 | 6 | |
Sporting Kansas City Totals | 25 | 3 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 6 | ||
Swope Park Rangers (loan) | 2017 | USL | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 1 | |||||
Swope Park Rangers Totals | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | ||
Los Angeles FC | 2018 | MLS | 30 | 5 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 0 | — | 35 | 7 | |
2019 | 34 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | — | 39 | 6 | |||
2020 | 21 | 1 | — | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 26 | 2 | |||
2021 | 30 | 2 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 30 | 2 | |||
2022 | 1 | 0 | — | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | |||
Los Angeles FC Totals | 116 | 14 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 131 | 17 | ||
Career total | 162 | 35 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 183 | 41 |
Sporting Kansas City
Los Angeles FC
Los Angeles FC – current squad | |
---|---|
|
Ghana Premier League top scorers | |
---|---|
|