Mexican international dos Santos signed by LA Galaxy

(Reuters) - The LA Galaxy beefed up their already potent playing roster by signing Mexican international Giovani dos Santos on a long-term deal, the Major League Soccer (MLS) club said on Wednesday. Though the Galaxy did not disclose the terms of the contract, the LA Times reported that dos Santos will join the team on a four-and-a-half-year deal worth approximately $7 million. Dos Santos, 26, is scheduled to link up with his Galaxy team mates next month, after the CONCACAF Gold Cup. "Giovani is a special player," LA Galaxy head coach and general manager Bruce Arena said in a statement. "He has experience and success competing at the highest level and we believe he will only continue to develop. We are happy to add him to our roster and have confidence he can be an integral part of our success going forward." Dos Santos, who represented his country at the World Cup in 2010 and 2014, is a versatile player who can be used as an attacking midfielder or on the wing. Signed from Spanish La Liga club Villarreal, he will join former England and Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard and Irish striker Robbie Keane as one of the Galaxy's three "designated players". Under new rules adopted by MLS, the Galaxy were able to free up U.S. national team defender Omar Gonzalez, formerly a designated player, by using 'targeted allocation money' to lower the salary threshold. "We are committed to assembling the best roster that will compete for championships year in and year out," said LA Galaxy president Chris Klein. "Giovani is yet another testament to that effort by Mr. Anschutz and our ownership group, who have continued to provide every resource for us to win. We're proud to add Giovani to a list of great players who have represented the Galaxy." Dos Santos, who has also played for Barcelona in La Liga and Tottenham Hotspur in England's Premier League, scoring three goals for Mexico to help them win the gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. (Reporting by Mark Lamport-Stokes in Los Angeles; Editing by Alan Baldwin)