"The One Person Who Can Control Whether Hirving Stays Is Hirving." Chucky Lozano's Fresh Start Begins Now at LA Galaxy
Notable moments from Chucky Lozano's presser, Kuntz sheds light on Chucky's San Diego decision, and what Sergi Roberto's addition means to LA
With goosebumps and the joy of getting to train with a team, Hirving “Chucky” Lozano is looking forward to starting his LA Galaxy career.
The Mexican International was in exile in San Diego due to disciplinary issues from the 2025 season. Lozano was told he was not in the sporting plans anymore and would be forced to train on his own if he stayed with the club.
“Coming here with a group, with great players is something very beautiful, very special for me... I get goosebumps when I start being part of a group again,” said Lozano in Spanish to the media after Tuesday’s training.
The reaction to the signing of the Mexican international has been polarizing for much of the fan base. Reactions from both Los Angeles and San Diego have fueled the discourse surrounding Lozano.
“I know who I am as a person, and I believe I am a great person... I am going to give my absolute best for this club. I am very ambitious, and I believe I can really help this club,” said Lozano.
“I have to think about the here and now; I have to prove myself, win over my teammates, and fight for a spot,” added the Mexican winger.
The disciplinary questions surrounding Lozano take over when you talk about the former Napoli and PSV winger. But LA Galaxy manager Will Kuntz made sure to dig into the weeds and find out as much about the person Lozano is before pulling the trigger to make this move official.
“We called everybody from sporting directors to team admins, video analysts, data analysts. We really tried to get a full picture of everything as a player and a person, said Kuntz about the process of finding out more about Lozano.
“We talked to enough people in and around it in San Diego, and it came back across the board: like a good guy, a good teammate, does everything for the club, you know, does everything for the fans,” said Kuntz.
Lozano will be with the Galaxy on a six-month loan with a purchase clause that the SoCal club can activate. There are 15 games left to go, but Kuntz believes that is more than enough time to decide on Lozano.
“This is the type of thing that we’re going to know in weeks rather than months how the fit is,” said Kuntz
“The one thing we told Hirving throughout this process is, look, doesn’t matter what I think, doesn’t matter what my bosses think, doesn’t matter what Greg thinks. The one person who can control whether or not Hirving stays is Hirving.”
“That’s something to be commended”
The 2026 World Cup was supposed to be a special moment for Lozano. Just a year ago, he looked on pace to be selected on the Mexican National Team roster for his contributions in San Diego. Getting to play a home World Cup is a dream for any player, especially for Lozano, who would’ve been called up for his third World Cup.
That never ended up happening.
With San Diego forcing him to train alone, the only option to get back into the World Cup fold was to move away. But that would come at the cost of the stability his family was enjoying.
“The one question I had for Chucky throughout all of this was, you know, how do you miss the World Cup in your home country?” said Kuntz about talks with Lozano during this signing process.
It was at this moment that Lozano got emotional about the situation and shed light on why.
“He said it was the hardest decision he’d ever had to make… he had to make a decision between his family’s stability and chasing the World Cup,” Kuntz.
“After trying so hard to get to MLS and having a really successful season, and his family having a really stable environment in San Diego. That wasn’t something that he was willing to uproot, and he was willing to miss a World Cup for that,” said Kuntz
“And I actually think that’s something to be commended”.
Sergi Roberto inbound
Lozano isn’t the only notable incoming. Former Barcelona midfielder Sergi Roberto is on his way to the Galaxy and will arrive once his P1 Visa is approved.
“Sergi and several other players are very, very important players of great quality and I’m really excited to be part of a dressing room like that. It’s a real plus,” said Lozano about the addition of Roberto to the Galaxy.
The 34-year-old has been on LA’s radar for some time. With Edwin Cerrillo leaving and Roberto available as a free agent, this was the perfect chance to bring him to the Galaxy.
“We always knew that we were going to look to add a defensive midfield presence, but we also wanted to make sure that we had somebody who brought a lot of character to the group, a lot of experience, and Sergi does that,” said Kuntz about the signing.
Kuntz made sure to look into who Roberto is as a leader and off the field presence. He held talks with Cesc Fabregas, his coach at Como, and other people within the club to see how the Spanish midfielder could fit in the locker room.
“There’s no game he hasn’t played in, no big moment he hasn’t been in,” said Kuntz. He hopes Robertro can be a good reference point for younger players like Lucas Sanabria, Elijah Wynder, and Harbor Miller.
Kuntz isn’t done with making roster moves. He told reporters that the club is in the process of transferring away Miki Yamane. Kuntz also made sure to say they are looking at players to fill the vacant U22 spot on the roster, but will not rush to make the signing.
For Kuntz, it's about being ready once the tree leaves change color and the MLS Cup playoffs come around.
“The most important thing is that we put together a squad that can make a real run down the stretch in the playoffs.”