Landon Donovan has surprised MLS by coming out of retirement to rejoin the LA Galaxy for the rest of the season. The club confirmed the news on Thursday.
Donovan, the all-time Major League Soccer leader in goals and assists, retired two years ago at the age of 32 after helping the Galaxy win their fifth MLS Cup title. He returns with six regular-season games remaining before the start of the playoffs, and hopes to resolve LA’s present injury crisis.
He's back. pic.twitter.com/tOEduyVv7u
— LA Galaxy (@LAGalaxy) September 8, 2016
Gyasi Zardes is sidelined until the end of the regular season with a broken foot, Steven Gerrard has missed time with a hamstring injury, and defender Jelle Van Damme has been out with an MCL strain. Midfielder Nigel de Jong was recently sold to Turkish club Galatasaray.
Donovan, 34, confirmed the news on his Facebook page. He wrote: “Since my retirement, I have remained in close contact with many of the staff and players on the Galaxy. I spoke with some of them that week and they jokingly asked if I was ready to make a return to the field to help fill some of the void left by the injuries and departures. I reminded them that I haven’t played a meaningful soccer game in almost two years and I certainly couldn’t fill the holes left by those players.
“I care so deeply about the Galaxy organization, and I believe I could help in a small way to aid the team in its quest for a sixth MLS championship. Further, the opportunity to have my son Talon on the field with me after a game was a feeling that I would never be able to replicate.
“I then had a candid conversation with Bruce Arena and we began down the path of deciding whether this made sense. We both agreed that if this was going to happen, the expectations would be minimal and he would use me in situations that made sense for the team. I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with my family and close friends over the past several days, and we all agreed that this would be a wonderful opportunity and a win-win situation for everyone.”
Donovan, who enjoyed short spells in Europe with Leverkusen, Bayern Munich and Everton, is the only player to win six MLS Cups, and has 169 league and playoff goals. MLS named its MVP trophy after him last year.
