LA Galaxy acquire Mexican star Chucky Lozano after his lengthy standoff with San Diego FC

CARSON, Calif. (AP) — The LA Galaxy have acquired forward Hirving “Chucky” Lozano on loan from San Diego FC for the rest of the Major League Soccer season.

The Galaxy will have an option to make the move permanent through trade under the deal announced Friday.

The move finally ends a long, uncomfortable standoff between the 31-year-old Lozano and San Diego, which signed the Mexican star as its first designated player from PSV Eindhoven amid much fanfare in the summer of 2024.

Lozano recorded 11 goals and nine assists in 34 appearances during San Diego's successful inaugural season in 2025, becoming a favorite with the club's new fan base. But Lozano was benched late in the season after an altercation in the locker room, and his relationship with the club never got better.

Lozano was effectively kicked off the team last January , with sporting director Tyler Heaps deciding he wouldn't allow Lozano to return.

San Diego has struggled for months to find a new home for Lozano, who has one of MLS's highest salaries. Lozano publicly said he didn't want to leave San Diego and hoped for a reconciliation, but his subsequent lack of club soccer action contributed to Mexico's decision to leave him off the squad for what would have been his third World Cup appearance this summer.

“We have been working with Hirving and his side to find the right opportunity for him to get him back on the field,” Heaps said in a statement. “We appreciate his contributions during our record-setting inaugural season and wish him well as he continues his career.”

Both San Diego and the Galaxy are struggling mightily this season. San Diego has fallen off precipitously without Lozano in its lineup, currently sitting 13th in the 15-team Western Conference, while the Galaxy are just one point better in 12th place.

The Galaxy are desperate for Lozano's scoring ability after managing just 24 goals in 19 MLS matches this season. LA sold Gabriel Pec, their co-leader in goals, to Cruzeiro in his native Brazil this summer, while fellow scorer Joao Klauss has been sidelined by injury for several months.

The Galaxy’s acquisition of Lozano is helpful to San Diego, but it also amounts to a low-risk tryout for a potential solution to the Galaxy’s scoring woes. Lozano will occupy the designated player slot vacated by Pec.

“Hirving is a player whom we tried to acquire three years ago, so this feels like something of a full circle moment,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said. “He is a fierce competitor with an excellent track record of performing on teams that have competed for titles in multiple leagues, including his debut season in MLS. As we evaluated opportunities to strengthen our roster for the stretch run of the season, it became clear that Hirving was the right player for the moment we are in as a club. We have a talented group, a strong locker room and a clear objective over these final 15 games of the season.”

Lozano joins the Galaxy’s list of Mexican stars to play for the club with a large Mexican-American fan base, including Javier “Chicharito” Hernández and brothers Giovani Dos Santos and Jonathan Dos Santos.

Since winning their record sixth MLS Cup title in 2024, the Galaxy are 12-16-25 in MLS play. Not coincidentally, they've fallen into that prolonged drought while playing without Spanish midfielder Riqui Puig, the playmaker and driving force behind their title team. Puig is currently missing his second consecutive full season due to injury, but is expected to return in 2027.

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