Riqui Puig: The Man who Revived the LA Galaxy
“Enjoy my Friend”
Those were LA Galaxy midfielder Riqui Puig’s words on social media following the Galaxy’s 1-0 win in the Western Conference Final over the Seattle Sounders.
The 25-year-old Spaniard assisted the game-winning goal - marking the first time he recorded a goal contribution against the Sounders in MLS play. Tears fell from Puig’s face as the Galaxy were set to lift the Western Conference Trophy, but a closer look into the moment made you think something was off.
Puig started limping as the game ended, and the emotions overcame him. He was comforted by his parents and Head Coach Greg Vanney before lifting the trophy. Photos from the locker room celebrations showed his knee heavily bandaged, and his status for the MLS Cup Final was up in the air.
On Sunday afternoon, the LA Galaxy announced Puig had torn his ACL during the second half of the match. He played through the excruciating pain in his knee to deliver the most important pass of his career and book the Galaxy’s spot in the final for the first time in a decade.
Here is the likely moment where his ACL tear happened. Puig falls off balance and begins to start running with clear pain. From this moment forward in the game, you can tell he is dealing with an issue. According to a press release from the LA Galaxy, Puig will undergo surgery on a date to be determined.
Puig will not play in the MLS Cup final, but his fingerprints are all over this team. The two-time MLS All-Star notched 37 goal contributions (17 goals, 20 assists) in 36 matches played (34 starts) across all competitions for the LA Galaxy during the 2024 campaign. Puig scored four goals and recorded three assists in the MLS Cup Playoffs, earning him the Mr. November moniker.
No matter the MLS Cup final result, Riqui Puig will go down as an LA Galaxy legend. For a decade, the LA Galaxy has been looking for a spark, for a player that guides the club to its next chapter of success. Puig has done that on all fronts and etched himself into Galaxy lore.
There is a generation of LA Galaxy fans who don’t have many memories of a successful and trophy winning Galaxy team. They’ve only heard stories of club legends like Cobi Jones, Carlos Ruiz, and Mauricio Cienfuegos from older LA Galaxy fans and reading the club’s history. They also have very few memories of the days when Landon Donovan, David Beckham, and Robbie Keane lifted MLS Cup’s because they were still young. Zlatan Ibrahimović brought a taste of that winning swagger, but it became a quick good moment rather than winning silverware.
Puig came when the Galaxy was still finding its identity under Vaneny and then suffered a bad season on all fronts in 2023. Rather than sulk and try to find a way out of this situation, he became the club’s beacon of light into a new era.
2024 Puig is a winner and entertainer. Whether it’s his fun celebrations after his goals, his blond hair era, scoring goals and setting up his teammates consistently to be an MLS All-Star, or getting petty on social media with MLS media - he’s made this season unforgettable. He’s become the face of the franchise and gives the LA Galaxy its much-needed evolution into this new era of MLS.
As I mentioned earlier, a whole generation hasn’t seen a winning LA Galaxy team. It hasn’t experienced having that swagger that many previous Galaxy teams possessed. Puig is their first winning superstar, the first player to have that match-winning ability every week, and a player they will tell stories about once his playing days are over.
His charisma, combined with his ease on the ball, makes him such a fun player to watch and root for. Puig is that generation’s player - the player they have grown attached to. That’s why hearing of his injury is heartbreaking for so many.
Given the severity of his injury, he’ll be missed by the team and the fans for the majority of the 2025 season. He left Barcelona as another less-than-noteworthy player but became Prince of Los Angeles. His gamble to play in LA resulted in him finally getting to play every week, becoming one of the league's best players, and building a fanbase that adores him. Every player dreams of having that, and he accomplished it in the city of stars.
As an organization, the LA Galaxy has established the infrastructure to continue being one of the best teams in MLS beyond this season. The front office makes smart decisions often and has developed a sound scouting system that’s been absent for years. The fan base is as strong as ever, with Dignity Health Sports Park becoming the fortress it was back in the early 2010s. The winning results came when LA rebuilt its infrastructure, Puig being the face of the organization at that time.
The Spaniard will watch his team compete on the sidelines in the final. It’s not how he envisioned his 2024 season-ending but he won’t be alone. The LA Galaxy will want to win this trophy for him, and he’ll still gain his much-deserved praise for his efforts this season, no matter the result of the final.
Puig showed the heart and fight for the badge that’s been missing for a decade. He’s been at the center of the LA Galaxy’s revival for a generation of fans who have only heard stories of the “big-bad Galaxy.” Playing through a torn ACL and risking the rest of your career to produce the winning play to lead your team to the final is the stuff of legends.
I do not doubt that Puig will have his seat in the LA Galaxy Pantheon ready for him once his career in LA is over. He made this a season to enjoy watching, and his words, “Enjoy my friend,” hold a much bigger meaning now.