Carlos Vela hints at future after MLS Cup victory
Mexican LAFC star Carlos Vela won his first trophy and had some intriguing comments after the game regarding his future with the team.
LAFC became MLS champions after going 3-3 against Philadelphia Union and defeating them on penalties at a full Banc of California stadium in Los Angeles.
The Mexican LAFC star Carlos Vela has been a fixture on this team since its conception in 2018. He is one of the best players in MLS and finally achieved his goal of winning the MLS title. He’s always made it clear that his ultimate goal was the championship and now that he’s achieved it, his “cycle is over” at LAFC. Though he has a contract with the team until the end of 2023, it seems Vela could be heading to Liga MX sooner than that.
“Work has its reward. I came to a team that you didn’t know, with the uncertainty of what can or can’t happen,” said Vela. “But today, I feel that the cycle is over. Obviously, I want more and I want to continue enjoying Los Angeles, LAFC, winning more titles. But now with a clearer conscience, with a more peaceful and calm body, saying ‘okay, now I gave them the first. Let the others come! That’s how I feel, it’s a liberation to be able to say I’ve now achieved my goal.”
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Since Vela joined LAFC in January 2018, he has played 139 games, scored 79 goals, and made 43 assists. He won the MLS Golden Boot and MLS Most Valuable Player in 2019 and the CONCACAF Champions League Ideal XI in 2020, and now he can add an MLS title to that list in 2022.
Now that he’s achieved his goal with the team, he could be making the move to Liga MX, which he’s said on several occasions that he wouldn’t mind playing in. In an interview with ESPN, Vela said it would not be unreasonable to see him wearing a Club America jersey.