A new star will be calling Dignity Health Sports Park home starting this season
By Ivan Yeo
After weeks of speculation, the Galaxy finally officially announced the signing of Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez. Chicharito signs a three-year contract with the Galaxy in which he will be paid about $6 million a year, and the Galaxy also pays Sevilla a transfer fee of $8.5 million.
The Galaxy’s need for a striker of Chicharito’s caliber became Urgent after Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 52 goals in two seasons in a Galaxy shirt, left LA after this season to return to AC Milan. The Galaxy are hoping Hernandez can not only replicate that production on the field, but also have success off the field in Los Angeles’ large Mexican community.
“The LA Galaxy continue to pursue top talent across the world that will improve our team,” said LA Galaxy President Chris Klein. “Javier is one of most successful players in our region and an iconic figure in this community. The LA Galaxy have represented Los Angeles and have been the benchmark in Major League Soccer since 1996, and our pursuit of the world’s best players for our club will continue to play a part in our success. We are excited to add Javier to our club and look forward to him representing the LA Galaxy in our stadium and in the Los Angeles community.”
Hernández has appeared in over 400 matches across top-flight leagues in Mexico, England, Spain and Germany in addition to appearing in over 100 matches for Mexico. During that time, he has tallied 156 goals for club and 52 goals for country, the most of any Mexico International. Since 2006, he has represented sides that have captured two Premier League titles (2011, 2013), the Mexican Primera División: Apertura (2006), the FIFA Club World Cup (2014), the Concacaf Gold Cup (2011) and Concacaf Cup (2015). Individually, he has been honored as Concacaf Men’s Player of the Year (2015), Concacaf Best XI (2015) and Concacaf Gold Cup Golden Boot and MVP (2011) and was named to the Bundesliga Team of the Season (2015-16).
After scoring 59 goals with Manchester United across all competitions, the forward joined La Liga giant Real Madrid on loan in 2014. The following season, Hernández made a permanent transfer to Bundesliga side Bayer Leverkusen, where he enjoyed some of the most productive years of his career with 39 goals in 76 appearances. He rounded out his time before joining LA with stints at West Ham in England (2017-19) and Sevilla in Spain (2019).
“Javier has consistently scored goals in top leagues throughout the world and has been his country’s most successful player over the last decade,” said LA Galaxy General Manager Dennis te Kloese. “He is a competitor who has proven success at the highest level and has scored the most goals ever of one of the best teams in Concacaf. We think he can be one of Major League Soccer’s best attacking threats and help our team in multiple ways. We are excited to bring Javier to Los Angeles and we look forward to him representing this city and our fans as a member of the LA Galaxy.”
