Maxime Crépeau, who has arguably been Vancouver Whitecaps FC's most consistent and influential player since his arrival, is now a member of the Los Angeles Football Club. Sporting Director Axel Schuster has described the circumstances as a "very special personal situation," but did not elaborate much further.

"It was big enough, serious enough, that we understood we had to work on a solution together with him," said Schuster on Thursday after the trade was announced.

"He had to leave Vancouver to solve this problem."

In a statement, Crepeau thanked the club for working with him to find a solution.