LAFC acquires midfielder Mark Delgado in first trade with Galaxy
To bolster its bare midfield, the Los Angeles Football Club has looked south for reinforcements.
First, a short ride down the 110 freeway to Carson, where a first-ever trade between rivals landed two-time MLS Cup winner Mark Delgado from the Galaxy on Tuesday.
“Mark is a player we know well from his distinguished career in MLS,” LAFC co-president and general manager John Thorrington said in a statement. “We believe Mark’s energy and technical abilities complement our midfield group incredibly well, and it is all the more exciting to add a player who grew up playing in Southern California to help us in our goal of contending for multiple trophies in 2025.”
Originally from Glendora, the 29-year-old Delgado enters his 14th season as the only player to wear the uniform of L.A.’s three Major League Soccer franchises. He was signed by Chivas USA in 2012 as a homegrown player before moving to Toronto FC in 2015 prior to competing the past three years with the Galaxy, where he reunited with head coach Greg Vanney after their successful stint together in Toronto, highlighted by the 2017 MLS Cup and Supporters’ Shield.
Delgado aided the Galaxy in capturing the MLS Cup in 2024, and will get to attempt a personal repeat with LAFC in exchange for $400,000 in general allocation money to the reigning champions, which is divided evenly between this year and next.
The lone Galaxy player to join LAFC (“Niko” Hämäläinen, Raheem Edwards and, most recently, John McCarthy went the other direction as free agents), Delgado made 40 appearances in all competitions last season, with one goal and 11 assists, including on the MLS Cup final game-winner against the New York Red Bulls in December at Dignity Health Sports Park.
Days after Delgado and Vanney captured their second MLS Cup together, the Galaxy exercised a club option to retain the midfielder, who earned $800,000 in base pay last year. He comes to LAFC on an expiring contract, and the club is expected to seek an extension.
Thorrington and the front office also looked to South America, by way of Portugal, acquiring Brazilian defensive midfielder Igor Jesus through 2028.
A U22 Initiative signing after playing 13 matches (nine starts) through the first half of the 2024-25 season with Estrela da Amadora in the Portuguese Primeira Liga, the 21-year-old Jesus, a native of Goiânia, Brazil, occupies an international roster pending the receipt of his transfer certificate and P1 visa.
Jesus began his professional career with Flamengo at the age of 18. He was called up to Brazil’s U-23 national team and won gold at the 2023 Pan-American games.
“Igor is a player who has shown a lot of promise and progress early in his professional career, and we are confident he will be a quality player and person for the club,” Thorrington said in a statement.
The Black & Gold carried three midfielders under contract into 2025 – Timothy Tillman, David Martinez and Mateusz Bogusz – while losing the services of Eduard Atuesta and Lewis O’Brien at the expiration of their loans along with the free agent Ilie Sanchez who signed with Austin FC.
Martinez, 18, spent more time in the attack than the middle of the park in 2024, and Bogusz is rumored to be sold prior to the start of the new campaign.
Delgado and Jesus, both of whom have similar profiles to the 35-year-old Sanchez, join homegrown Jude Terry and Norway’s Odin Thiago Helm, on a loan from Celtic FC, among LAFC’s recent midfield acquisitions.
The club has also expressed interest in Ghanaian Yaw Yeboah, who was selected by San Diego FC in the MLS re-entry draft after his contract option was declined by Columbus at the end of the season.