Carlos Vela wanted to leave MLS to Europe and already found his new team
His contract with LAFC ends over the summer.
Since Carlos Vela was announced as the first player of Los Angeles Football Club prior their debut in MLS in the 2018 season, “El Bombardero” has become the face and heart of LAFC throughout their first five seasons in the United States’ top flight.
More MLS news:
Vela was close to leave LAFC at the end of the 2021 MLS season, as his contract expired, but Los Angeles FC decided to take up the option on his contract to extend his stay six more months, giving then a chance of agreeing to a contract extension in the meantime.
But up until this week, Carlos Vela hadn’t showed any signs of wanting to negotiate, not only with LAFC but with any team, as he could have agreed with any team in the world to join them as a free agent once his contract expired.
According to reports, Carlos Vela was looking for a salary similar to the one he had during his first 4 years with the Black & Gold, as he earned up to $6.5 million, with his base salary plus add-ons, something that only MLS and European teams were able to pay.
Where will Vela play for the next season?
Thanks to the arrival of Javier Aguirre at RCD Mallorca, Carlos Vela’s name was linked to the Bermellones, as his return to La Liga was something more than possible, especially since Mallorca were able to pay him around $5 million per season.
But according reports from sports journalist Doug McIntyre, from Fox Sports, Carlos Vela has agreed to extend his contract with Los Angeles FC for at least 18 more months, as he’ll sign until the end of the 2023 MLS Season.
Under his new contract, Vela will earn a base salary of $4.5 million with up to $1.5 million extra as incentives, but he will also have the option of extending his contract with LAFC once again at the end of this extension, something he might do as he has the possibility of ending his career in the Banc of California Stadium.
Will he play in Liga MX?
Vela is one of the few cases where, even if he’s Mexican and started his soccer career in Chivas academy, he never got to debut in Liga MX. Although he hasn’t closed the door to arriving at Liga MX at the late stages of his career, the option seems very unlikely.
