Report: Donovan in talks to come out of retirement, rejoin LA Galaxy for 2016
U.S. soccer icon and former LA Galaxy captain Landon Donovan is in talks to come out of retirement and rejoin the club for the remainder of the 2016 MLS season, sources tell Jeff Carlisle of ESPN FC.
Kevin Baxter from the LA Times reports that the deal would come as a result, in some way, of the Galaxy's sale of Nigel De Jong to Galatasaray.
Donovan, 34, stepped away from the game in 2014 and announced his retirement, playing his final match on Dec. 7 in the MLS Cup final and helping the Galaxy secure its fifth league title with a win over the New England Revolution.
He remains the league's all-time top scorer with 144 goals, as well as the MLS assist leader with 136 assists. He is sixth all-time in playing time, making 334 appearances and recording 28,665 minutes of play. He has six MLS Cup titles to his name, four with the Galaxy and two with the San Jose Earthquakes.
It's unclear how Donovan's status as a free agent pertains to his return to the league, and whether he'd need to go through the allocation order or if the LA Galaxy retained his rights after his retirement.
The Galaxy have until Sept. 15 to complete the move before the MLS roster freeze deadline.