Landon Donovan ends retirement and returns to the Los Angeles Galaxy

A week ago Landon Donovan was a former soccer player, a new husband and father, a part-time TV analyst and a part-owner of an English Premier League team.

But he was also restless and felt he still had something left to contribute on the field. So Thursday, after only three days of workouts, Donovan ended his 21-month retirement by re-signing with the Galaxy.

“Landon had a desire to play again,” said Galaxy Coach and General Manager Bruce Arena, who first began discussing a comeback with Donovan last weekend. “So in this case, if you’re going to gamble a little bit, this is a pretty good guy to gamble with.”

The Galaxy have six regular-season games and the Major League Soccer playoffs remaining, with Donovan’s contract expiring at season’s end. Terms of the deal were not released publicly but a source with knowledge of the negotiations said Donovan’s contract was worth the league’s maximum player charge of $457,500, prorated for the final third of the season. That means it will pay him about $152,500.

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Galaxy midfielder Landon Donovan reacts after scoring the first of his three goals against Real Salt Lake in an MLS playoff game on Sunday at StubHub Center.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Landon Donovan turns to celebrate with teammates after scoring one of his three goals against Real Salt Lake.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Galaxy star Landon Donovan celebrates the second of his three goals against Real Salt Lake on Sunday at Stubhub Center.   (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Landon Donovan, left, vies for the ball with Spain’s Sergio Ramos during a Confederations Cup semifinal soccer game at Free State Stadium in Bloemfontein, South Africa, on June 24, 2009.  (Paul Thomas / Associated Press)

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Landon Donovan celebrates after the U.S. defeated Mexico, 2-1, in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final on June 24, 2007, at Soldier Field in Chicago. Donovan scored one of the U.S. goals.   (Tasos Katopodis / Agence France-Presse / Getty Images)

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Landon Donovan scores on a header past Mexico goalkeeper Oscar Perez, right, and Gerardo Torrado in a 2-0 victory on June 17, 2002, that sent the United States into the quarterfinals of the 2002 World Cup in South Korea.   (Vincent Yu / Associated Press)

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Landon Donovan, center, celebrates a 2-0 victory over Mexico in the 2002 World Cup with teammates Brad Friedel, left, and Eddie Lewis on June 17, 2002.  (Vincent Yu / Associated Press)

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Captain Landon Donovan holds up a Galaxy scarf during a news conference in Los Angeles on Dec. 16, 2009, to announce that he signed a new four-year contract that includes a provision to pursue opportunities to join a foreign club on a short-term loan agreement.  (Damian Dovarganes / Associated Press)

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The Galaxy’s Landon Donovan (10) keeps the ball away from the Dynamo’s Brian Mullan, left, in the second half of a 2-1 win in an MLS soccer game on Oct. 7, 2007, in Houston.  (Pat Sullivan / Associated Press)

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Landon Donovan points to his teammates after scoring a tiebreaking goal against Cuba in the CONCACAF Gold Cup game on July 7, 2005. The U.S. won the game, 4-1.  (John Froschauer / Associated Press)

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Galaxy forward Landon Donovan (10) eludes a diving Brian Dunseth of Real Salt Lake before scoring in an MLS game on June 11, 2005.  (Chris Pizzello / Associated Press)

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Landon Donovan scores the game-winning goal over Houston’s Tally Hall in the 2011 MLS championship game.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Galaxy players celebrate their win against the Houston Dynamo in the MLS championship at the Home Depot Center in 2011.  (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)

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Galaxy star Landon Donovan shows his appreciation for supporters after a 4-1 victory over the Philadelphia Union at StubHub Center on May 25.  (Harry How / Getty Images)

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Landon Donovan (10) pursues the ball in an exhibition game against Ecuador in East Hartford, Conn., on Oct. 10. Donovan made his final national-team appearance in the 1-1 draw. At right is Ecuador goalkeeper Maximo Banguera.  (Elise Amendola / Associated Press)

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Landon Donovan (10) brings the ball up the field in the first half of the Galaxy’s MLS Western Conference semifinal Saturday against Real Salt Lake. The teams played to a 0-0 tie in the first leg of the two-game playoff series.  (Rick Bowmer / Associated Press)

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Galaxy forward Landon Donovan, center, holds the MLS Cup trophy after a 2-1 overtime win against the New England Revolution for the MLS title on Dec. 7, 2014.

  (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

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Galaxy forward Landon Donovan chases after the ball during the first half of a MLS Cup victory over the New England Revolution on Dec. 7, 2014.

  (Robert Laberge / Getty Images)

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Landon Donovan reacts after the final seconds tick away in the Galaxy’s 2-1 victory over the Revolution.   (Rick Loomis / Los Angeles Times)

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Galaxy forward Landon Donovan acknowledges the fans after playing in his final professional match following a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution in the MLS Cup final on Dec. 7, 2014.

  (Jae C. Hong / Associated Press)

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Margie Banuelos, left, and Nefi Chaua, right, show their support for Galaxy star Landon Donovan before a game against the Seattle Sounders on Oct. 19 at StubHub Center.  (Kelvin Kuo / Associated Press)

Donovan, expected to be in a No. 26 Galaxy uniform for Sunday’s home game against Orlando City, addressed his decision in a lengthy Facebook post, saying the idea came to him after a late August game in which three Galaxy players were sidelined because of injuries.

“I’ve spent a lot of time speaking with my family and close friends over the past several days,” Donovan wrote ,“and we all agreed that this would be a wonderful opportunity and a win-win situation for everyone.”

But the climb back could be steep even for Donovan, the all-time leader in goals and assists in both MLS and with the U.S. national team. Although he’s only j 34, he hasn’t played a top-level soccer game since the 2014 MLS Cup final. And his first training session with the Galaxy’s first team will be Friday.

“It’s No. 1, getting up to speed, because regardless of what you’re doing to stay in shape, it doesn’t come close to full force when you are in a competitive professional match,” said former teammate Cobi Jones, an analyst on Galaxy broadcasts. “He’s got a ways to go, I would imagine.”

The second part of the equation is determining how and where Donovan can best help a team that has been playing together for nine months.

“Now that you’ve brought Landon in it’s, ‘All right, where’s he going to fit in this scheme,’” Jones said. “I think it’s a no-brainer that he’s going to be central somewhere and help combine. That’s one of the bigger lacks for the Galaxy this year — having that extra player to combine with.”

Donovan retired in December 2014, citing burnout after leading the Galaxy to their fifth MLS Cup title. And his return comes less than two weeks after the Galaxy abruptly released midfielder Nigel de Jong. Arena insisted Thursday that the two moves were unrelated, although De Jong’s departure did create space for Donovan, both on the team and within the payroll.

Donovan, however, was hardly the only candidate to fill those voids.

“When we had a roster spot open up, we had players from all over the world that wanted to come,” Galaxy President Chris Klein said. “Bruce went through those options but we kept coming back to this one: a player that certainly knows our club and knows our league and how to be successful and how to win.”

So the Galaxy moved quickly, landing Donovan only a week before teams must set their rosters for the remainder of the regular season and the playoffs. And the Galaxy have been stumbling, winning only one of their last eight games with four starters sidelined because of injuries.

“It’s almost the stars perfectly aligning,” said Fox Sports commentator Alexi Lalas, a former national team player and Galaxy general manager. “Because you have a Landon Donovan, who is physically still able to contribute and I think mentally still feels like he has something to give. And you have a Galaxy that, in this moment, is desperate and more than willing to try something and anything in order to increase their chances of having success come the postseason.”

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