At the tail end of May and just weeks before the World Cup, LA Galaxy President Chris Klein took part in an impromptu press conference, briefly addressing the media inside the American Express Stadium Club to deliver a simple message: Giovani and Jonathan dos Santos are not for sale.

GIO-GALAXY



“Estamos contentos con Gio y Jona NO vamos a escuchar ofertas por ellos. Estamos buscando continuidad con ellos”:



Chris Klein / Presidente @LAGalaxy



Como se dijo ayer en @UpalabraMX hay DOS SANTOS para rato!@FOXSportsMX pic.twitter.com/RvepiRsgqO — Rubén Rodríguez (@ruubenrod) May 26, 2018

Considering Giovani’s lackluster production in recent memory, it was a peculiar show of gusto, of which there was only one logical explanation. “They’re going to try and ship Gio” I muttered to myself at the time.

Sure enough, that sentiment appears to be short-lived. ESPN reporter Eric Gomez, a source dialed in on both sides of the border, has revealed the Galaxy organization attempted to offload Designated Player Giovani dos Santos to multiple Liga MX clubs, all of whom declined.

Giovani dos Santos was offered to a pair of #LigaMXeng teams this summer, both before and during the World Cup.



Both said no.



Crazy to think Gio was so sought after in Mexico for many years - now he has no market. — Eric Gomez (@EricGomez86) July 9, 2018

If true, this wouldn’t be much of a surprise. Despite winning a spot on Mexico’s 2018 World Cup roster, Gio has not lived up to his massive contract for some time. The El Tri regular is still a useful weapon when motivated, but for now his wages are probably too high to attract serious attention from other clubs without a pay cut.