LAFC lands World Cup veteran goalkeeper Hugo Lloris at bargain price

For the third time in 18 months LAFC landed a big-name European star for a budget price, announcing Saturday that it signed Tottenham goalkeeper Hugo Lloris on a free transfer. The one-year deal, which includes club options for 2025 and 2026, is for $350,000, according to multiple sources, and a steal for the most capped goalkeeper in World Cup history.

Lloris, 37, started 20 World Cup games for France, including the 2018 and 2022 finals. He won the first and lost the second. But after 11 ½ seasons with Tottenham, eight as the team’s captain, Lloris has fallen out of favor in North London and hasn’t played for the club since April.

He was due $6.62 million in the final season of his contract with Tottenham, which will pay tribute to him in a farewell match Sunday.

“He wants to win. And he wants to compete,” LAFC general manager John Thorrington said of Lloris, who never won a league title in his 19-year career. “He wants to be at a club that shares that ambition.”

Thorrington said Lloris has been on LAFC’s radar for some time “but candidly the conversation only really accelerated in the last few weeks.”

Lloris will step into the starting job but exactly who he’ll be starting in front of is uncertain. John McCarthy, who set career highs with 25 starts and eight shutouts last season, has signed a free-agent deal with the Galaxy, and Maxime Crepeau, who had three clean sheets in five playoff starts after returning from a broken leg, is out of contract and will not be back, Thorrington said.

“Max was a guy that we left the season hopeful that we could keep. As the weeks progressed, it became clear that was highly unlikely,” Thorrington said of the keeper who led LAFC to consecutive MLS Cup finals. “So we’ve gone a different direction.”

LAFC goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau stops a shot against Minnesota in October.

Crepeau, 29, earned a base salary of $350,000 last season — the same amount LAFC gave Lloris — but is seeking a significant raise as a free agent. Twenty-three MLS goalkeepers had base salaries of more than $350,000 last season, according to the league’s players’ association. Aside from Lloris, the only keeper on LAFC’s roster is Abraham Romero, 25, a former Mexican youth international who has not appeared in an MLS game.

“If this is where we land, we’re fine,” Thorrington said of the goalkeeper situation. “But we’re still evaluating some options.”

The arrival of Lloris, who is expected to be in Los Angeles for the opening of training camp in mid-January, follows the summer 2022 signings of Italian captain Giorgio Chiellini and Welsh captain Gareth Bale, who helped LAFC win the MLS Cup that fall. Bale retired after the 2022 World Cup while Chiellini returned to start 21 MLS games, including playoffs, last season.

Bale’s base salary was $1.6 million, though he was paid on a pro-rated basis after arriving in midseason, taking home just half that amount. Chiellini made about $1.6 million in base pay in his two seasons. Add in Lloris’ 2024 contract and LAFC has signed three of the most accomplished European players of their generation for less than $3 million in base salary.

“Each case is unique and specific,” Thorrington said of his sales pitch. “We know who we are and what we offer for a player, which may mean different things at different stages of their career. But what’s consistent is who we are, as a club, how we treat our players, our club ambitions in terms of wanting to win trophies. A lot of that aligns with what players want.”

LAFC still has work to do before training camp opens. Captain Carlos Vela, the last player remaining from the team’s inaugural roster in 2018, is a free agent, as is World Cup midfielder Kellyn Acosta. Vela, 34, had a guaranteed contract worth nearly $4.4 million last season and would probably need to accept a substantial pay cut to return. Acosta, 28, earned a guaranteed $1.365 million in 2023.

“We don’t have full clarity on those situations,” said Thorrington, who has two open designated player slots.

Lloris, who has also played in a European Championship final for France and a Champions League final for Tottenham, appeared in a record 145 games for France, captaining the team 121 times, before retiring from international soccer last year. His 447 appearances for Tottenham rank third in club history.