Jonathan dos Santos discussed the pain caused by the departure of his brother Giovani from the LA Galaxy over the weekend, telling reporters after the team’s 2-1 season-opening win over the Chicago Fire that the decision has brought on “difficult times for me, for the family.”
After carrying four Designated Players – one more than the MLS limit per team – throughout all preseason, the Galaxy exercised a contract buyout for Giovani dos Santos last Friday to become roster compliant by the league’s March 1 deadline.
Reports suggested that LA had explored multiple avenues to keep hold of the injury-plagued Mexican international, but came up short.
"These are difficult times for me, for the family,” said Jona, who followed Gio to LA in 2017, two years after his older sibling signed with the five-time MLS Cup champions, both on DP contracts. “We had a dream, my brother and I, to succeed here with the Galaxy. In the end, these are things that happened within the league.”
Under the circumstances of the buyout – a provision teams can exercise for one player per year under MLS roster regulations – Giovani could move to another MLS team or abroad in the months ahead.
“Gio deserves the best. We lose a great player, I'll miss him,” said Jonathan in remarks reported by Univision Deportes. “I just give him my full support, that I am at his side wherever he is, and now with tranquility process everything that is happening.
“He is fine,” added Jona of Gio. “Obviously it hurts him because he wanted to play. He had been injured for a long time, without playing in front of many people in the stadium, but these things happen.”
