The LA Galaxy acquired the MLS rights to U.S. international Jermaine Jones from the Colorado Rapids on Tuesday.
Jones is out of contract with the Rapids and the move clears the way for him to negotiate a new deal with LA.
In exchange, the Rapids received the Galaxy's top pick in the 2017 MLS SuperDraft and general allocation money.
The 35-year-old spent most of his career in Germany, with stints at Eintrancht Frankfurt, Bayer Leverkusen and Schalke, and since he only moved to MLS in 2014, he is not eligible for free agency within the league.
LA Galaxy president Chris Klein confirmed to ESPN FC on Saturday that the team had held preliminary talks with Jones.
Jones played two seasons with the New England Revolution before moving to Colorado in 2016, when he helped the Rapids complete a fine turnaround that saw them finish second in the Western Conference.
He was in a similar situation a year ago, when his contract with the New England Revolution expired. He ultimately signed a one-year deal that saw him take a massive pay cut from the $3.052 million in guaranteed compensation he made in 2015, to $650,000 last year.
Jones was then traded to the Rapids, where injuries and a six-game suspension to start the season limited him to 13 league and playoff appearances.
He has earned 67 caps with the United States, including four at the 2014 World Cup.