LA Galaxy Sign USA Midfielder Joe Corona From Club Tijuana
With the MLS season underway, the LA Galaxy are continuing to retool and have acquired the services of U.S. international midfielder Joe Corona.
The 28-year-old Corona leaves Club Tijuana to come to MLS for the first time after a standout run in Mexico. A Los Angeles native, Corona had been with Tijuana since 2010, though through the years he spent time on loan with Veracruz, Dorados and most recently Club America, where he won an Apertura title for the second time. The news of Corona's signing with the Galaxy was first reported by Yahoo! Sports.
Corona joins a midfield that includes fellow U.S. internationals Sebastian Lletget and Perry Kitchen and Mexico's Jonathan Dos Santos, and he is part of an evolving side that's been molded under new general manager Dennis te Kloese and new coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto. The Galaxy, to get to the league-mandated limit of three Designated Players, had to buy out Giovani Dos Santos's contract prior to the start of the season, and they also sold forward Ola Kamara to China's Shenzhen FC. The addition of Corona, along with the opening-night emergence of 16-year-old Efrain Alvarez, gives LA a new look moving forward.
“Joe is an experienced and quality player who can immediately address an area of need for our club,” te Kloese said in a statement. “I am familiar with Joe from his time in Liga MX and think he can be an impactful player on our roster. We are excited to welcome Joe to our team and look forward to his contributions.”
With the U.S., Corona has been part of two Gold Cup-winning sides (2013, 2017) and scored three goals, making 23 appearances in his international career. Despite Corona's U.S. national team status, he was not subjected to the league's allocation order, which is designed to fairly distribute select U.S. internationals, U.S. youth players or players returning to MLS after having been previously sold for a fee of at least $500,000.
Corona is the second U.S. international midfielder to move to MLS Wednesday, following FC Cincinnati's acquisition of Kenny Saief on loan from Anderlecht.
