FC Dallas, LAFC swap defenders Ryan Hollingshead, Marco Farfan in trade

TRANSFER TRACKER STATUS: Trade

• DAL receive: Marco Farfan
• LAFC receive: Ryan Hollingshead

LAFC have acquired defender Ryan Hollingshead via a trade with FC Dallas in exchange for defender Marco Farfan, the clubs announced Thursday.

The Western Conference teams have swapped left backs ahead of the 2022 MLS campaign, giving LAFC a veteran presence along their backline. Hollingshead, 30, has spent the last eight seasons with FC Dallas and recorded 18 goals and 15 assists across 193 regular-season games (149 starts).

“Ryan is not only known as one of the most versatile and valuable players in MLS but also as a great person and leader,” LAFC co-president & general manager John Thorrington said in a release. “For these reasons, we are incredibly excited to welcome Ryan, his wife Taylor, and their family to LAFC. We also appreciate what Marco has meant to the club during his time here, which makes the moment bittersweet for us. He is a class act both on and off the field and we wish him all the best in Dallas.”

Farfan, 23, is a former Portland Timbers homegrown player who spent one season at LAFC. He turned pro with Portland in 2016 and has featured in 63 regular-season games (44 starts), also featuring as a center back in a back-three.

Hollingshead was the 2017 MLS Works Humanitarian of the Year and played collegiately at UCLA. He originally joined FC Dallas via the 2013 MLS SuperDraft.

“We are so grateful for the contributions Ryan has made to FC Dallas and to our DFW community during his time here,” FCD president Dan Hunt said in a release. “He’s truly one of the all-time great guys to play for our club.”

Both clubs have new head coaches this year, with LAFC now led by Steve Cherundolo and FC Dallas now led by Nico Estevez. Those changes come after missing the Audi 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs.

This is another major trade for LAFC this offseason after they acquired goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, midfielder Kellyn Acosta and more via that mechanism. As for FCD, they’ve landed winger Paul Arriola and club-record signing Alan Velasco in recent weeks.