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The Galaxy have re-signed captain Maya Yoshida, fulfilling a major task of their offseason agenda.
Yoshida, 36, led the MLS champions in minutes played while solidifying a defense that had four new starters last season. That earned him recognition as the team’s defensive player of the year.
Yoshida was the only starter whose contract expired after the team’s MLS Cup victory last month and there was some concern the team would not be able to fit him under the league’s salary cap. He made $893,334 in his first full season with the club in 2024. Financial terms of the new deal, which is for two seasons, were not announced.
Yoshida played in three World Cups for Japan and his 126 appearances with the national team rank third. He made 53 starts for the Galaxy since coming to MLS in the summer of 2023. He had two goals and two assists in 40 matches across all competition last year.
“Maya has been an outstanding leader and teammate since his arrival to the club, and he is the embodiment of what it means to be a Galaxy player,” Galaxy general manager Will Kuntz said in a statement. “His character, competitiveness and consistency were the foundation of our MLS Cup winning campaign. We look forward to being a further part of his storied career.”
With the signing, the Galaxy have 10 of the 11 players they started in the MLS Cup final under contract. The lone exception is midfielder Gastón Brugman, who was traded to Nashville.
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The team added to that by signing Danish National team defender Mathias Jørgensen from Anderlecht earlier this week and are reportedly close on a deal with Uruguayan midfielder Lucas Sanabria.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.