The Galaxy moved another piece of their championship-winning team with forward Dejan Joveljić going to Sporting Kansas City for $4 million.
It’s the first trade in the league under the new MLS initiative allowing clubs to trade for cash within the league.
According to the league, the trade-for-cash initiative: “creates additional opportunities for top players to remain within MLS, while further incentivizing player development and creating more pathways for MLS clubs to generate revenue on player movement.”
Joveljić, who scored 21 goals across all competitions last season, joined the Galaxy late in the 2021 season under the U-22 Initiative on a 4 1/2-year contract from Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany.
This upcoming season was his last under contract and the last that he could be classified under the U-22 initiative, meaning his salary cap hit was going to be higher. Joveljić earned $683,750 last season. He will sign a new contract with SKC through 2027 with an option for 2028.
Recently, it was reported that Mexican club Tigres had set their sights on Joveljić and were preparing a $5 million move.
He scored 12 goals in his first full season (2022), but fell back to just six in 2023. He put everything together last season, including six goals in the championship run for the Galaxy.
The Galaxy have been working this offseason to relieve some of their salary cap pressure, with the trades of defender Jalen Neal (CF Montreal), midfielders Gaston Brugman (Nashville SC) and Mark Delgado (LAFC).