How star power of 'Killer Ps' has sent LA Galaxy's prospects soaring

The LA Galaxy — the winningest team in Major League Soccer history — spent its first two decades as America's most famous soccer team, attracting global superstars such as David Beckham, Steven Gerrard, Gareth Bale, and Zlatan Ibrahimovic. But recent seasons haven't been kind to the Galaxy. 

The arrival of Los Angeles FC — the city's second soccer franchise — in 2018 split the market and left many feeling like the Galaxy were a relic of the past. The team's on-field performances didn't help that perception as it finished 13th in the Western Conference in 2023 and missed the playoffs while its crosstown rivals made the MLS Cup Final.

Big changes were needed to bring the Galaxy back up to par. Those changes began in the boardroom, with controversial president Chris Klein stepping down in 2023 due to vociferous fan protests. 

The Galaxy's new leadership promised to bring fluid, attack-minded, star-spangled soccer back to Los Angeles, and it delivered in the form of three attackers known as the "Killer Ps": Riqui Puig, Gabriel Pec and Joseph Paintsil.

Puig, the ex-Barcelona star, arrived first, and the Galaxy built its attack around him. Pec, the hyped Brazilian youth prospect, came second. But Paintsil, the Ghanaian striker from Belgium's Genk, brought the Galaxy's attack to a new level.