Galactic Notebook: Recapping exit interviews; Douglas Costa announces departure from LA

Here is all you need to know from Monday's busy day in LA Galaxy World

Photo Credit: LA Galaxy

The LA Galaxy held their end-of-the-season interviews on Monday morning with Head Coach and Sporting Director Greg Vanney and 11 players speaking to reporters. It lasted around four hours so here’s a summary of all the notable quotes and moments. It was also the day when one of LA’s key players this season announced he would not be back for 2024.

Douglas Departs

In his last 15 games of the MLS season, Douglas Costa found his best form in LA Galaxy colors with three goals and seven assists. With 2023 being the last year in contract, the Brazilian’s performances showed he could be productive following a disappointing year-and-a-half with the club.

“I think I did my best and now I have to just take some time and see everything that happened and and see what's best for me. And my family and see where that goes,” said Costa during his presser earlier today.

When asked about Costa’s future, Vanney mentioned he wants the club’s DP’s to be as healthy as possible. Staying on the field has been an issue for Costa as he began the season out due to injury, missed a portion of the middle of the campaign, and missed a couple of games in LA’s final 12 matches of the season.

“The challenge for us and the talk through we talk about our DP’s is we need we have to know that our DP’s are going to be on the field and going to be available as much as possible,” he said.

It’s something that he continued to emphasize when talking about Costa’s future with the club. “If he were to be here. How that could even work in the DP spot, for example, you just gotta know that with some level of certainty, you're going to have availability as much as possible barring the situation that we saw with some of our guys this year.”

Just a couple of hours after the press confrence, Costa announced he would be leaving the LA Galaxy after two seasons with the club. The Galaxy would later confirm he would not be part of the plans for 2024.

douglascosta

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“Today another chapter of my career closes. LA Galaxy and I reached an agreement to no longer be together. I would like to thank my teammates, the employees, and each fan! Thank you VERY much! LA will be always in my heart” he wrote on Instagram.

A source with knowledge of the players’ future stated that he has had offers from clubs in Saudi Arabia. He’s close to signing with a club as the Saudi Pro League approaches the midway point of their season.

Costa’s last moments with the LA Galaxy showed the promise and flash that he’s known for. He elevated the ceiling of the LA Galaxy attack and was a player you could rely on. If he could’ve played like this for the majority of his time with the Galaxy, this team could've easily had the best attack in MLS.

With both sides not fully committing to one another, going separate ways was best for both parties.

What about Chicha?

A lot of what Vanney said about DP’s being available applies to Javier “Chicharito” Hernadez. This ACL injury kept him out of the rest of the LA campaign and during the final year of his contract.

Hernadez, Mexico’s all-time scorer, has expressed a desire to stay with the Galaxy through his social media and even Vanney mentioned that he loves the city. In his four seasons with the Galaxy, Chicharito scored 39 goals - that tally ranks 10th all-time in Galaxy history.

“We all know that in this league the DP positions are such coveted positions you don't get many of them and so it's when you make these types of decisions, they have to be very thoroughly thought through, and wise decisions have to be made,” noted Vanney. LA struggled to get production from the striker position this season and Chicharito only found the back of the net once in nine games during the MLS season.

“It's our responsibility as a club and my responsibility to make the decisions that are going to be best for the club. But it's it's a tough one because it's a key one, it's a key one after having a season like this,” he added.

At 35 years old and coming off a major injury, the Galaxy has the opportunity to move on from the Mexican strike and go into the offseason with two DP spots open. Reading between the lines, it feels like LA is ready to move on from this era.

17 decisions to make

LA will have to decide on the future of 17 players who have club options, contracts up, or options to buy on their loans. Here is the list of players:

• Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez

• Douglas Costa

• Micheal Barrios

• Calegari (loan)

• Martin Caceres

• Uri Rossell

• Tyler Boyd

• Kelvin Leerdam

• Jonathan Klinsmann

• Edwin Cerrilo

• Tony Alfaro

• Adam Saldana

• Daniel Aguirre

• Preston Judd

• Novak Micovic

• Gino Vivi

• Billy Sharp

“I don't think we'll be looking at 17 new players,” said Vanney when asked about this by reporters.

“We've got to continue to address positions where we feel like we have some decisions to make. But I think we have a core group that is here but I think we need to be very pointed and very calculated about how we improve this team but I think the core is generally here we just didn't get to see it,” he expressed.

One major player with no contract for next season is Tyler Boyd. He scored a career-high seven goals in league play and recorded four assists in his first season in MLS. Boyd grew up as an LA Galaxy fan and reiterated his desire to stay with the club.

“I think there's some ongoing discussions. Obviously, I want to be here but yeah, I signed a one-year deal. And I wanted to prove myself and prove my value,” Boyd told reporters. “It comes down to my agent and the club and all of that. So it's still early days, but I think they're starting to talk,” he added.

Vanney has expressed many times this season that he likes the way Boyd plays off-the-ball by making dangerous runs and having a high work rate on the pitch.

“I know he wants to be in LA his family's here. He'd love to be here. We want him here. So on the basis of that, I hope there's definitely a deal there to be done and that's my hope,” said Vanney about Boyd’s situation.

Boyd was the only LA Galaxy player to appear in every single match this season. It’s important to note that he dealt with and played with a broken hand for a good portion of the season. He also had an injury at the start of his time with the Galaxy.

“This year I had something to prove and I did have injuries but I wanted to play it through and show that I did love the club,” stated Boyd. “I want to be here so I had the Broken Hand, I had a torn quad for the first three months and I was playing through that so I did have a couple of little injuries here and there”.

With LA needing striker help this season, the acquisition of Billy Sharp aided the club in getting a pure goalscorer. He scored six goals in 711 minutes of MLS action- that tally has him tied for second-most goals this season with Dejan Joveljic.

“I’d love to stay. I've really enjoyed it. The lads have been great. The fans have been great. All the staff’s been great. And I feel I've got a part to play and I'd really like to because of the way it's ended this season, I'd like to be part of a successful season next season,” noted Sharp. He signed for the final six months of the year with a club option to return for 2024.

Two different loan situations

The Galaxy has Micovic and Calegari on loan this season with an option to make the deal permanent this winter.

Calegari was the club’s first major signing in the winter from Fluminense in Brazil. He was named as the LA Galaxy’s Defender of the Year at the end of the season. The Brazilian full back made 25 consecutive appearances for the Galaxy before an ACL injury cut his time with the club short.