“Things were said to me before I signed. I am not going to repeat them, but I remember all of them.” LA Galaxy have not answered, which is an answer of sorts.
Hirving Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Every manager keeps a short list in his head of the men he wants on the pitch when the stakes rise, and it is never published. The team sheets for the big afternoons say João Klauss is on it.
In brief
The dugoutCarlos Garcés knocks on the manager’s door
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at LA Galaxy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at LA Galaxy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
A call-up flatters the player and the club that produced him in the same breath. LA Galaxy would like him back in one piece and know they will not be consulted.
“I have ambitions, and I would like the club to share them.” Nobody has asked to leave and nobody has been shown the door — but a player chooses that sentence carefully, and a boardroom hears it exactly as it was meant.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. Jordan Weah has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
There is no fee, no unveiling and no agent on the steps. George Morris has been at this club since he was a boy and is now, formally, one of the first-team squad — which for a local readership beats any signing of any size.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Jakob Glesnes was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at LA Galaxy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at LA Galaxy hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Sanabria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
In brief
The dugoutRiqui Puig has become a man the manager trusts
The dugoutThe manager makes Maya Yoshida a promise
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Hirving Lozano was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad26 Oct 2026
8 new faces, and LA Galaxy are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody at LA Galaxy will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
Hirving Lozano and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Pablo Ruiz wants continental football; whether LA Galaxy can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
Squad19 Oct 2026
Jakob Glesnes falls out with a teammate over standards
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nothing in writing and nothing in public: a word about playing time, given face to face at LA Galaxy. The team sheets over the next month will show whether it was worth having.
The shrug has gone, the language is coming, and he now argues in training like somebody who expects to be here next year. Half a signing's value is this and none of it appears on a fee.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Sanabria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Jack Musah has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Adam Dempsey is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
A conversation in the manager’s office, and a commitment that came out of it. Promises like that are cheap to make and expensive to break, and Maya Yoshida has written the date down.
João Klauss and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
It is not a grievance and it is not a demand: he wants to play continental football, and he has stopped hiding it. Whether LA Galaxy can give him that is a question about the club, not about him.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nobody at LA Galaxy will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
17 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. LA Galaxy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Hirving Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
It is the most legitimate ambition in the sport and the hardest for most clubs to satisfy. Carlos Garcés wants continental football; whether LA Galaxy can provide it is a question about the next two seasons, not about him.
DC United will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. Alex Bono has pre-agreed a move to LA Galaxy, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Erik Thommy was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Squad28 Sep 2026
8 new faces, and LA Galaxy are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
It is never announced and it is entirely visible: the biggest afternoons of the season keep containing him. A press box works this out long before anybody at the club confirms a word of it.
“It had gone on long enough. I would rather have it out than leave it sitting there.” Ten minutes behind a closed door at LA Galaxy, and both men came out saying it was fine.
25 days on the estimate, and a long, private, unglamorous year of a rehabilitation nobody watches. LA Galaxy lose a footballer; he loses considerably more than a season.
Hirving Lozano and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
Successful dribbles: 20. He went past people as if he had been told there was a prize for it, and by the end the full-back had stopped pretending to try.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at LA Galaxy heard it as anything else.
The dugout21 Sep 2026
The manager’s verdict
“That is on me. I pick the team and I picked wrong.” Managers say that when they mean it and when they need to be seen to, and after 0‑2 Dylan Robinson left the room before anybody could ask which.
The words a physio says slowly. 32 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
Match12 Sep 2026
João Klauss wins it after the whistle should have gone
91 minutes played. João Klauss found the finish in time that only existed because of earlier delays, and Portland Timbers went from a point to nothing inside one movement.
“I want to be playing for trophies while my legs still let me.” Nothing in that sentence is a transfer request, and nobody at LA Galaxy heard it as anything else.
Squad14 Sep 2026
Words at LA Galaxy training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hirving Lozano is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
Ask anyone on the way out what separated the sides and you will get one name: João Klauss. 2‑1 against Portland Timbers, and the applause at the whistle was mostly his.
Clubs spend fortunes looking for players and occasionally find one down the corridor. Gio Dempsey is that, and the reception he gets on his first appearance will be different in kind from the one any signing receives.
The academy exists for exactly this morning. Miles Pepi has come through every age group the club runs and has now been handed a senior number, and the people who coached him at twelve will be the proudest in the building.
In brief
Player ratingsJoão Klauss was on a different afternoon to everybody else
Player ratingsNinety minutes of Joseph Paintsil at his very best
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 6 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Pablo Ruiz scored, was marked 7.30, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at LA Galaxy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
Somebody said out loud what several people thought about how hard another man trains, and Lucas Sanabria was in the middle of it. The one dressing-room argument that is genuinely about football.
Some afternoons a goalkeeper is the team. 7 saves, several of them the sort nobody expects to see stopped, and a scoreline that flatters everybody in front of him.
Hirving Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
Minute 94, against Houston Dynamo, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.
“I pick players who do the work. All of it.” No name was spoken; every camera still turned to Carlos Garcés, and the manager let it.
Squad31 Aug 2026
8 new faces, and LA Galaxy are still learning each other
A squad rebuilt inside one window pays for it in a currency nobody budgets for. The football is not worse than the sum of the players; it is worse than the sum of the players who have played together before.
Nobody at LA Galaxy will say this on the record and the team sheets have been saying it for weeks. There is a small group in every squad who get picked when the fixture is difficult, and he has joined it.
2‑4 against Vancouver Whitecaps, and the road stops here. Cup exits are quick deaths — no second leg, no next week, just the league from now until May.
Centre-halves are allowed forward twice a season and are judged on what they do when they get there. Lucas Sanabria scored, was marked 7.68, and got back before anybody noticed he had gone.
It was not about football and everybody who saw it knows that. Two men who have to play together on Saturday said things at LA Galaxy this week that will take longer than a week to unsay.
6 goals. Both benches spent the second half looking at each other rather than at the pitch. Purists will complain about LA Galaxy and Vancouver Whitecaps in equal measure; everybody else had a wonderful time.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
The oldest argument in any dressing room and the only one that is genuinely about football: one man thinks another is not putting enough in. It is also the row a manager privately does not mind having happened.
Nothing happens for months and then he simply arrives, at no cost, having signed a pre-contract while still turning out for somebody else. It is the least dramatic way to sign a footballer and frequently the shrewdest.
The words a physio says slowly. 20 days is what the club will announce and everybody who has heard this diagnosis before knows the number is the least of it: the knee comes back before the player does.
There is a particular kind of quiet from an away end watching one man score twice. Hirving Lozano provided it, and the 8.86 beside his name is if anything generous to everybody else.
At 34 he is supposed to be managing his minutes. Instead he was marked 7.91 and looked, for ninety minutes, exactly like the player everybody remembers.
LA Galaxy offered $520.0K; Minnesota United FC said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Squad17 Aug 2026
Words at LA Galaxy training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Lucas Sanabria is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
He is 22 and the ground already sings his name, which is a thing that happens to local boys and almost never to signings. Everything from here is measured against an affection he did nothing to earn except be from here.
3 goals inside twenty minutes with Hirving Lozano in the middle of it, and Austin FC unable to get near the ball long enough to change anything. Some matches are won before the first drink.
28 days on the announcement, and a year of quiet, unwatched rehabilitation behind it. LA Galaxy lose a player for a season; he loses something harder to name.
Successful dribbles: 27. Every time he got the ball somebody had to make a decision, and every time the decision was wrong.
Boardroom10 Aug 2026
Deadline passes with 16 signed and 1 gone
That is the business done at LA Galaxy until the window opens again. Whether it was enough will be answered on Saturdays rather than in a column, and the first Saturday is close.
LA Galaxy have gone to Minnesota United FC with a bid, and the supporters have gone to the internet with an opinion about it. Whether either changes anything is up to the selling club.
Hirving Lozano was at the centre of it, and by the time it was pulled apart there were three or four others involved. Training grounds are small places and long seasons make them smaller.
LA Galaxy offered $370.0K; Real Salt Lake said it was not close. The manager will be told the money is still there for the right player, which is what managers are told.
Minnesota United FC will keep picking him until June and will get nothing for him after it. D.J. Taylor has pre-agreed a move to LA Galaxy, and the only people who lose in that arrangement are the ones who let the contract run down.
João Klauss and a teammate said things this week that will take longer than a week to unsay. It was not about football, and both of them play on Saturday.
“I want to win things, and I would like to do it here.” Nothing has been demanded and nothing has been threatened — but a boardroom at LA Galaxy hears a sentence like that exactly as it was built.
The general version of this complaint is that a player wants more. The specific version names the thing: he wants to walk out under floodlights against clubs from other countries, and he has stopped pretending otherwise.
Squad3 Aug 2026
Words at LA Galaxy training over how hard people work
Somebody said out loud what several people had been thinking. Hirving Lozano is at the centre of it, and the squad will now find out whether the standard rises or the pair of them simply stop speaking.
The paperwork is done long before the player is. Ibrahim Aliyu has agreed terms to come here when his current deal runs out, which means LA Galaxy have spent a summer's transfer budget on a phone call.
Minute 92, against FC Dallas, and a goal that felt like a win to everybody who had stayed. It was a draw. Nobody leaving the ground will describe it as one.