Mexican superstar Hirving Lozano finds himself in new surroundings for the rest of the 2026 MLS season. Following much-publicized internal tension with 2025 league debutants San Diego FC, which led to him sitting on the sideline for months, the 31-year-old former face of the franchise has made the move on loan to Southern California rivals LA Galaxy to close out the rest of campaign.
To say that this is a gamble for all involved might be an understatement.
Lozano, far from the precocious winger he once was when he scored a career-defining goal against Germany in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, hasn’t played since November. San Diego, which has frozen out its highest-profile player for eight months, will be sending him to a Western Conference rival that’s also fighting for a playoff spot. As for the Galaxy, they’re now picking up a portion of the eye-watering salary of an attacker who may not have enough time to settle and adjust before the season ends.
Will it all work?
“The Galaxy is one of the most important clubs in MLS. It was a great opportunity, and well, I took it. I think it was the right decision,” Lozano told ESPN. “Honestly, I’m happy to be here, the Galaxy have given me an opportunity, and I’m going to try to always give my best for this club.”
Ahead of what could be his debut for his new team on Saturday at the Houston Dynamo, ESPN spoke to the former Mexico international, among others, about his move to Los Angeles, the pursuit of the player, expectations for the rest of the year, and what went wrong in San Diego.
The fallout with San Diego
“I don’t know the exact reasons, but well, they have their reasons,” Lozano said when asked why he was frozen out by San Diego. “But right now, there’s a different objective, different goals, and for the moment, I’m here with the Galaxy.”
Late last year, Lozano made headlines after he was dropped from two game-day rosters due to disciplinary issues. A source told ESPN that there was an “intensive” locker room moment that escalated into a shouting match in October 2025 between Lozano and head coach Mikey Varas. By January, sporting director Tyler Heaps noted publicly that the former PSV Eindhoven and Napoli standout was not in the “sporting plans” for the club this season.
According to a source, there was no “breaking point” between Lozano and San Diego, and instead, there was more of an elongated strain both on and off the field between the team and a player who has been known to wear his heart on his sleeve. Nonetheless, it was the argument in October that led to him briefly being dropped before later returning in the playoffs.
What followed in 2026 has been a lengthy stay on the sideline.
Out of the sporting plans, Lozano has trained alone in San Diego’s facilities while offers have arrived from numerous clubs from MLS and abroad. Due to a no-trade clause within his contract, the former Serie A attacker has had the ability to deny transfers. With no playing time since November, he was left out of Mexico’s roster for this summer’s World Cup.
Whether it’s Saturday in Houston, Wednesday against the San Jose Earthquakes or some other date further into the future, is Lozano physically prepared to shake off the rust of a nine-month absence and contribute to a Galaxy team that sits three teams and two points behind the Seattle Sounders in the West’s final playoff spot?
“I think so,” he said, noting that his family is looking for housing in the L.A. area. “I’m working very hard to make it happen. Here at the club, they’ve set up a good program for me, solid planning to ensure I can perform at my best level. Ultimately, I’m available to the team if they decide it’s best for me to be in the lineup and play up front. But, of course, that’s a decision for the coaching staff.”
Looking at San Diego, this will likely be a relief from the off-the-field drama that has surrounded Lozano’s absence from game-day rosters. By far the most prominent player in the organization, Chucky has become a constant talking point locally whenever Varas & Co. fail to win a game — which has happened often as SDFC sit 13th in the 15-team Western Conference. In fact, one supporter has even gone as far as hiring a plane that has flown over matches with a “#FreeChucky” banner.
This also now provides roster flexibility for San Diego. Although this is limited due to Lozano being on loan with the Galaxy (with an option to make the move permanent), the door is now open for more roster possibilities.
The Galaxy’s ‘perfect football fit’
For the Galaxy, Lozano’s signing is the culmination of a long pursuit.
Galaxy GM Will Kuntz said the club first tried to get Lozano three years ago when the former Mexico international was with Napoli, but the fact that LA was under a transfer ban at the time made things “a little complicated.” With Lozano and SDFC at an impasse, the Galaxy started “kicking the tires” again on the player last winter once they realized that Riqui Puig would miss the entire 2026 season, which opened up a Designated Player slot.
Kuntz said he left nothing to chance in terms of getting a read on Lozano.
“We called every sporting director he’s worked with, players he played with, video analysts, data analysts, coaches; really tried to get a full picture of the guy,” Kuntz told ESPN.
But at the time, Kuntz felt the player profile he needed was more of a No. 9, which the organization ultimately followed with the signing of João Klauss in January. But a level of comfort had been reached with Lozano in terms of how he would mesh with the team both on the field and off. When Gabriel Pec was transferred to Cruzeiro earlier this summer, the opportunity to land Lozano opened up again, and Kuntz jumped at the chance.
“He’s the perfect football fit,” he said of Lozano. “He plays on the left, which lets us put [Joseph Paintsil] back on the right. And I think we have a really good locker room, really strong culture, and we’re a really good fit for Hirving. So felt like we kind of missed out three years ago, couldn’t quite get there in the offseason, but we had a chance to do it now. We were really excited about it.”
The finances made sense as well. According to the MLS Players Association, Lozano is the fourth-highest paid player in the league at $9.33 million, although multiple sources said that the player’s total compensation, when you include marketing agreements and a loyalty bonus, is closer to $10 million. With Lozano on San Diego’s books through July, that meant SDFC had already paid the player $5.83 million this season to train on his own. Kuntz said the Galaxy are on the hook for $2 million of what’s left of Lozano’s salary in 2026, which is approximately $4.17 million. Kuntz added that using the DP tag on Lozano gave the Galaxy the flexibility to bring in striker Kyogo Furuhashi and midfielder Sergi Roberto.
“We’ll probably make one or two more moves before the window closes,” he said. “That just wouldn’t be possible if Hirving was eating up all that cap space.”
Kuntz noted that Lozano had to train on his own in order to get some of his compensation, but the player will need some additional work to get to the point where he’s a consistent contributor on the field.
“I’d say he’s really sharp,” said Kuntz. “The one thing he just hasn’t done a ton of is a lot of sprinting. And so our big task to get him up to speed, especially at the winger position, is just making sure that he’s got a good base of just doing the bang-out running that he’s going to need to be doing in games.”
It helps that Lozano will hit the ground running. He already knows the league, and has his work visa in hand. But the manner of his exit from San Diego hangs over much of this deal.
It’s staggering that San Diego was willing to eat millions of dollars to have Lozano not play for them. But Kuntz, who at one point in his career worked for the New York Yankees as director of pro scouting, likened Lozano’s demeanor to that of former Yankee Gary Sheffield, a slugger from the 1990s and 2000s. Kuntz recalled how Sheffield was branded as a hothead and selfish, but he also loved to compete.
“[Sheffield] loved the pressure, he loved the expectation of winning,” Kuntz said. “And man, he was a great pro. Again, he’s intense, but that’s OK. We don’t shy away from that. But I see a lot of similarities in Sheff to Hirving.”
For that reason, Kuntz said he’s not concerned about how Lozano will fit into the locker room, adding that if what went down in San Diego was really bad, the club would have hit Lozano with even heavier sanctions that he would have felt in the pocket book.
“I think what happened is something that happens in locker rooms across the world at different times,” Kuntz said. “And not just in our football, but in every sport. So players and coaches have disagreed, but it’s not something that we have preoccupations about.
“I think it’s funny. There are a lot of people who have spent a lot less time talking to him that seem to know him a lot better than we do. But I think you’re always balancing the quote-unquote reputation or the public perception of a player against who he actually is. And the key thing is making sure that we understand who he is.”
San Diego felt that they did, and opted to cut ties. The Galaxy hope that Lozano shows the best of himself.
