In August 2025, while the media was swept up with the impending arrival of Son Heung-min, LAFC were busy making another signing. Injury-stricken and with the playoffs growing ever closer, they were in desperate need of a defender. Someone with enough experience to slot into the squad quickly, but also able to handle the physicality of the MLS. What they found in Ryan Porteous was exactly that.
Now, with only a few days until LAFC kick off 2026 with a CONCACAF Champions Cup game against Real España - and only a few days more until their regular season opener against Inter Miami - I'm sitting down with the LAFC center-back and Scottish International himself, wondering where in Los Angeles one goes to get black pudding?
Ryan Porteous:There's a couple shops that do sell it.
Jeff Kennedy: Scottish black pudding? I can only find Irish.
RP:I'm not sure actually, but there's a couple of shops that sell like black pudding, white pudding, haggis. Irn-Bru.
JK:So you get your fix?
RP:I probably shouldn't be telling you all this in case the nutritionist finds out.
JK:I can't promise I'll keep it off the record.
RP:I did say to the nutritionist - he'll come with Cokes after games - and I was like, if you can get a big pallet of Irn-Bru, just take it straight out of my salary and that should do me for this season!
JK:Ha! It's funny the things we miss. On a personal level, I wonder what else you've missed? And equally, what you've enjoyed?
RP:When the possibility of coming out here was on the cards in the summer, me and my girlfriend came out here for like six weeks. Just dotted around places and got a look at the culture and thought, yeah, I think this is for us. You bump into strangers in a coffee shop and they talk to you. I know that sounds weird, and that's not saying everyone in Scotland is miserable, it's just a different culture. A bit of a culture shock but a positive shock if that makes sense? So in terms of things I miss, it's probably just friends and family, [because] in LA you've got pretty much everything at your doorstep that you could want. It's brilliant.
JK: And what about when it comes to football? What similarities and differences have you noticed in the MLS? Besides being in preseason in February.
RP:Yeah, I think every league I've played in is different, from the Scottish League to the English Championship to the MLS. Every league has its own culture and its own identity, its own players, its own types of systems. I think probably the biggest difference between the MLS to, say, Scotland or the Championship, is every team out here wants to play a lot of football, wants to dominate the ball. In the Championship or Scotland it's more cutthroat, kind of win-at-all-costs. Of course, at LAFC we want to to win every game too. We're still hurting from the Vancouver game. But the league culture is a little different.
JK:That makes me think about the nature of playoffs and how the playoffs can affect a team's approach the league - how they allow time for teams to come into themselves. They can afford to try out ideas and stumble a bit in the regular season.
RP:Yeah I quite like the playoff system. Being a Hibernian fan in Scotland, it's something that I'd like to see introduced. It would probably break up the Old Firm dominance a bit in Scotland. You know, I've got a lot of friends that are Celtic fans and Rangers fans and you've got to win or you're gone. That's just the harsh reality of being at a club as big as they are. In America, people maybe don't realize just how big the expectations are over there. Especially in Scotland. That's everyone's whole life. So yeah, it's a bit different here, and the playoffs are a part of that.
JK: Well as far as LAFC fans are concerned, it seems like the 3252 have have really taken to you. I'm wondering what you've made of the fan culture here?
RP:Yeah, that was one thing that surprised me. Pleasantly surprised me. A lot. Just how good our fans are. They're constantly making noise, constantly jumping up and down. There's that stereotype you get of American crowds compared to UK crowds, but you'll never see LAFC fall into that category. And you know, the fans are crazy no matter where we go. Obviously with the introduction of Sonny [Son Heung-min] and having players like Denis [Bouanga], fans will come out everywhere. But the fans have been great, and they're always there in numbers. Especially at home. They push you over the line.
JK:As you talk about the fans and you mention your teammates, I can't help but think of the unique arc your career is taking. And I wonder, years from now, when you look back on the story of your career, what you hope the Los Angeles chapter will be about?
RP: Trophies. I wanted to come to a club that's constantly in the running for every trophy. I think we're in five competitions this year. I'm not naive enough to say that we're going to win them all, but to be competitive in every single one of them and have a chance to win trophies and play alongside world class players is something a lot of people don't have the opportunity to do. And from a personal level, it's great to experience all that. Because, you know, my goal is to try and get as much experience as I can to benefit my international career as well.
JK:And your international career is an interesting one. There's been some exceptional highs and some unfortunate lows. And now, with the World Cup here in America…
RP: Obviously, the Euros didn't go to plan. But there's still that feeling of representing your country in an opening game of the European Championship. It was special and something that no one can take away from me. And the World Cup - that's the pinnacle of every football player's career. Now the lads have got us there and I think that's what everyone wants. What the whole nation wants. Just to be there.
JK: This will be Scotland's first World Cup in your lifetime, right?
RP:Aye, in my lifetime. So to be involved in the squad would be a dream come true. But you know, it all comes down to me and how I perform from here on in.
JK: You're going to be familiar with the host country in a way a lot other players aren't. The long distances. The heat. The logistics. But on the flip side, you're not in Europe anymore. Do you think being in the MLS will affect your national team prospects?
RP:I've always had a really good relationship with Steve Clarke [Scotland Manager] and he's always pretty loyal to the lads that have gotten to major tournaments. And the lads from this World Cup qualifying campaign were fantastic. If they stay fit and keep playing well, there's no reason why he doesn't keep the same squad. But for me, I've just got to keep my head down work hard and concentrate on LAFC until then, and hopefully Scotland can come calling again. Because for me, I've always said that there's no feeling like playing for your national team. I know a lot of people have different priorities at different clubs, but that feeling of putting on the jersey for your national team - I don't think anything really comes close to it.
JK:Did you speak with Steve Clarke before or since making your move to LAFC?
RP:The conversations I had before my move was just that it was probably the right time for me to leave Watford, change setting. But not since I've been out here. You know, I owe him a lot. All the faith and trust that he's put in me in previous years. I've got 13 or 14 caps now and I've got big aspirations and big hopes to push and push to try and get more.
JK:And what would it mean to you if those came at the World Cup?
RP:Oh, mate [long pause] everything
