Giovani dos Santos was still in grade school when he left his family's home in Mexico nearly 15 years ago.
He wasn't running away. In fact, he took his father and younger brother to Spain with him when he joined La Masia youth soccer academy run by FC Barcelona.
But it was the start of an itinerant life just the same, one in which he would play for seven teams in three countries since 2008. So when Dos Santos signed with the Galaxy three weeks ago, it wasn't just a soccer decision.
It was a homecoming.