LA Galaxy trade AJ DeLaGarza to Houston Dynamo

The LA Galaxy’s most tenured player and a legend among Galaxy supporters will be departing the city he’s called home his entire professional career.

AJ DeLaGarza, winner of three MLS Cups, has been traded to the Houston Dynamo in exchange for $125,000 in General Allocation Money and $50,000 in Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).

“This decision was extremely difficult to make,” echoed Galaxy GM Peter Vagenas. “A.J is a champion and will always mean so much to this club, this city and our fans. We thank him for his many contributions to the Galaxy and know he will forever be a part of our family. With that said, we feel that this will give us flexibility to strengthen our roster going forward with the use of additional allocation money.”

DeLaGarza was drafted by the Galaxy in the 2009 MLS SuperDraft and has been with the club for eight seasons, making 204 appearances and 196 starts in MLS Regular Season matches and 16 appearances and 13 in the MLS Cup Playoffs. He will join the Dynamo as a three-time MLS Cup winner as a member of the Galaxy (2011, 2012, 2014).

The defender is one of just five players to make over 200 appearances for the Galaxy, alongside Cobi Jones, Landon Donovan, Kevin Hartman, and Mauricio Cienfuegos.