CARSON — The Galaxy are ready to put the 2025 season behind them.
One year after winning their sixth MLS Cup, the club sunk to the bottom of the league, finishing near the bottom of the Western Conference and Major League Soccer.
However, with the end of one disappointing year, comes another chance at redemption and that’s the focus going into 2026.
“I learned to never get too high and never to be too low,” midfielder Edwin Cerrillo said. “We had an amazing year (in 2024) and then we had a not-so great year, so what does that do for us individually? You kind of learn how to deal with success and failure, you get to know yourself a little bit more, what you’re doing when you’re winning and what you’re doing when you’re losing and ultimately just continue to grow and make sure this year doesn’t happen again.”
If the Galaxy are to return back to the top of MLS, the road journey will be will led by dynamic midfielder Riqui Puig.
Puig suffered an ACL injury in the Western Conference final in 2024. He sat out all of the 2025 season and just recently integrated into team training.
“We’re already starting the reintegration of Riqui in our group in training and you can already sense a different momentum in the group in a different way of how he impacts the game,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “He’s such a unique player and how he impacts the game.”
After the regular season ended Oct. 18, the Galaxy are remaining on a training schedule, leading toward a Nov. 15 friendly against Club America. Puig will likely miss the friendly, but before the end of the three-week training period, the club expects him to be into full team training.
Puig was expected to talk to media at Thursday’s end-of-the year news conference, but did not.
“He’s a phenomenal soccer player,” Vanney said. “I mean, just the second he gets on the field, the passes that he hits, the things that he sees, how he uses everybody around the field, is just so different. It’s so different than anything that we had going on this year in the midfield. It’s unique.
“He’s still going to have to get back all of the details and some of his movements and changes of directions and jumping through, you know, two defenders, when he’s splitting them and all those things are still going to keep taking steps, but just his mind for the game and what he sees is just different. He’s already started to orchestrate the next two or three moves and what does that do? It gives Gabe (Gabriel Pec) and Joe (Joseph Paintsil) and these guys more confidence to just go because they know the ball is going to arrive and it’s going to go and they’re not waiting for it at their feet.”
Vanney said he expects when the club returns to kick off the 2026 training camp, that Puig will be a full participant.
“I wouldn’t say that he’s up to full speed by any stretch,” Vanney said. “But the trust they have that he’s going to see and play the balls that he needs to play, gives them the faith and the trust to make the runs that they need to make. … It’s interesting to see how quickly those things kind of fall in. There’s a lot of work to do.
“The goal is before we leave this three-week period, that he will be fully in (training), defending, attacking, doing all the things.”
Christian Ramirez returns
Christian Ramirez, who was acquired from the Columbus Crew last offseason, will return on a new one-year contract for 2026.
Ramirez, an Orange County native, played in less than 1,000 minutes last season and scored only four goals.
“It was a bit frustrating early on, I think I got a good run of games when we were battling through injuries, somehow still found some goals in there,” Ramirez said. “When the team did find some rhythm and I was healthy, I didn’t get a run, but sometimes that’s football.
“I battled through a few injuries and tried to come back a little earlier than I should have, set myself back. … Get healthy this season and be ready for when my name is called upon.”
Roster decisions
The Galaxy announced that it has declined the 2026 options on defender Eriq Zavaleta, forward Miguel Berry and midfielder Diego Fagundez.
The club added that it remains in conversations with Fagundez about returning for 2026. Fagundez’s contract expires at the end of the season. He was the fourth highest paid on the team ($1,250,000, with a guaranteed compensation rising to $1,310,000). Fagundez made 32 appearances (six goals, three assists) was voted the team’s MVP.
The Galaxy also picked up the 2026 options for defenders John Nelson and Mauricio Cuevas and midfielders Tucker Lepley, Isaiah Parente and Gino Vivi.
Another decision the club has to make is on Matheus Nascimento. Nascimento joined the Galaxy on loan from Botafogo in Brazil. The Galaxy said it “continues its discussions” with Botafogo about bringing Nascimento back for 2026. In 22 games, he scored just three goals and added two assists.
“We’ve got to get more production in certain areas of our field and more stability in certain areas,” Vanney said. “We had three 9’s (forwards), between them they had seven goals.”