Jakob Glesnes

Jakob Glesnes (born 25 March 1994) is a Norwegian professional footballer who plays as a defender for the LA Galaxy of Major League Soccer.

Club career Early career He hails from Steinsland in Sund Municipality (now part of Øygarden Municipality) and started his career in local Skogsvåg IL. In 2010, he started playing regular senior football as he transferred to Hald FK. After half a season he went on to Løv-Ham, which was soon merged to form FK Fyllingsdalen. He stayed with Fyllingsdalen until the summer of 2015, when he stepped up one tier to First Division club Åsane.

Sarpsborg 08 Glesnes had been on trial with multiple clubs domestic and abroad, including Liverpool FC, FC København, Brann, Sogndal, Hønefoss, Lillestrøm and Nest-Sotra. In 2016, he finally joined a first-tier club, Sarpsborg 08, and made his first-tier debut in March 2016 against Haugesund.

Strømsgodset In March 2017, Glesnes was named captain for Strømsgodset. He scored his first goal for the club on 29 May 2017.

Philadelphia Union On 31 January 2020, Glesnes moved to the Philadelphia Union of Major League Soccer. Glesnes made headlines with his first goal for the Union, scoring a free kick from over 35 yards from goal against Los Angeles FC.

On 20 June 2021, Glesnes scored a late equalizer from well outside the 18-yard box to secure a 2–2 draw vs. Atlanta United. In the first round of the 2021 MLS Cup Playoffs on 20 November, he scored a long-distance screamer in the 123rd minute versus the New York Red Bulls to seal a 1–0 victory and send the Union to the Eastern Conference semifinals. On 8 December 2021, Glesnes signed a new, multi-year contract extension with the Union through the 2024 season.

On 19 October 2022, Glesnes won the MLS Defender of the Year Award, the first Philadelphia Union defender and first Norwegian to win the award.

LA Galaxy On 15 December 2025, LA Galaxy acquired Glesnes for $1.1 million of general allocation money and homegrown priority for a youth player.

International career In November 2016, Glesnes played for the Norway national under-21 team for 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification.

In October 2019, he was selected for the Norway national team for the first time.

Career statistics

Honours Philadelphia Union Supporters' Shield: 2020, 2025 MLS Cup runner-up: 2022

Individual MLS All-Star: 2022, 2023, 2025 MLS Defender of the Year: 2022 MLS Best XI: 2022, 2025