TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Report
The LA Galaxy have bought out Designated Player Giovani dos Santos' contract in order to become roster compliant by the MLS deadline, according to a report on Friday by The Los Angeles Times' Kevin Baxter.
Dos Santos, 29, played for the Galaxy for three and a half seasons, scoring 26 goals and 22 assists in 77 MLS regular season matches. His best year was in 2016, when he scored 14 goals and 12 assists, but injuries, absences due to international duty and lagging form the last two years meant he was the player deemed most likely to move on among LA's Designated Players.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic signed a DP deal in the offseason, meaning the Galaxy had four players with Designated Player contracts (the other two are Giovani's brother Jonathan dos Santos and Romain Alessandrini), one over the limit per league rules.
Baxter's report indicates that while Giovani dos Santos will no longer play for the Galaxy, he remains under contract in MLS and could move onto a new team inside MLS, or he could be sold abroad by the league. The Mexican international has been injured in preseason, with Galaxy head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto saying this week the player was about 10 days away from getting into training, indicating the manager believed the player would continue with the club in 2019.
All MLS teams must meet roster compliance standards by Friday's 8 pm ET deadline. The Galaxy open the 2019 MLS regular season on Saturday, at home against the Chicago Fire (8 pm ET | FS1 in US, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada).