What happened to Carlos Vela? What we know about LAFC icon's future

Highlights

• There is still no word on the future of the 35-year-old, more than six months since his last match.
• If he doesn't return as a player, there could be another role for Vela at LAFC.
• Vela has said he only wants to be in SoCal, but the Galaxy and San Diego FC are not pursuing him.

Ahead of the opening weekend of the 2024 MLS season, LAFC legend Carlos Vela posted a picture on Instagram of him and his family enjoying the snow in Colorado. Meanwhile, the club he had become synonymous with was preparing to host the Seattle Sounders without him.

For the first time in LAFC's history, Carlos Vela was not on the club's books ahead of a competitive match. He was still top of mind, however, with the media asking his former teammates for updates on his situation.

“He still has his locker there with all his stuff,” LAFC defender Aaron Long told media at the time. “Maybe there’s something that can get worked out.”

Nothing did get worked out and nothing has changed in the summer of 2024, as Vela hasn’t played a competitive soccer game since losing MLS Cup on December 9, 2023. Before that match he made one of his last public statements to the press about his future (video below):

Is Vela’s playing career over? It sure is looking that way, though the 35-year-old hasn’t announced anything definitively.

When Vela’s contract with LAFC expired this past winter, it was assumed both parties would find a new deal. Talks went on for months. LAFC didn’t want to make Vela a Designated Player (DP) again, but Vela insisted. Neither side budged and no agreement came.

Sources say that if Vela decides to return to the field, he prefers only to remain in Los Angeles.

LAFC is currently not an option on the table. There are no active talks between the sides and that is not expected to change. But that's not to say that LAFC wouldn't necessarily welcome Vela in a different capacity.

FOX's Rodolfo Landeros, who is based in Los Angeles, reported interviewing LAFC co-president Larry Freedman who shed some light as to how the club has left things with Vela. Landeros paraphrased the conversation with the LAFC executive on a recent FOX Deportes show:

"Freedman told me 'We continue to talk to Carlos Vela, and we'd like to have him with us again. But we know Carlos, and he lives his life at his own pace.' That's what Larry Freedman told me in an interview.

He told me: 'We want him to return to LAFC as a player. The ball is on his side of the court. And if it's not as a player, we want to have him as part of our organization because, in the end, he was the person who trusted us from the start. He was the cornerstone of the LAFC project, and we won thanks to him. He's given us so much. We want to have Carlos Vela as a player or whatever it may be. Now he's taking some vacation.' — and he [Freedman] told me this in the interview — 'And if you follow him on Instagram, he'll take another vacation after that. He's enjoying his family. But we continue to talk.'"

It remains to be seen if LAFC signing one of his old friends, Antoine Griezmann, would potentially rekindle the conversations with LAFC. Meanwhile, the LA Galaxy never made an offer in the winter as Vela’s camp had hoped, despite former LAFC technical staffer Will Kuntz taking over at the Galaxy. Further north in the state, the San Jose Earthquakes negotiated with Vela in the spring, but no deal got done.

Since then? Crickets.

With no LAFC deal and the Galaxy finalizing a deal to sign Marco Reus this summer, if Vela truly sticks to his wish to only entertain playing in Southern California, his playing days could be over. San Diego FC, located about 120 miles south of Los Angeles, enters MLS in 2025, but there is currently no interest from the expansion club in Vela, either.

Vela has never had much desire for a return to Liga MX, not even back home to Cancun. His brother, Alejandro, is sporting director at Mexican second division club Cancun FC.

Vela is operating on his own terms, and it would be very on-brand if he were to decide to close the curtains on his hugely successful career. The only shame is that he didn’t get a proper sendoff from LAFC, though that can still be addressed in the future.

Carlos Vela forever an LAFC legend

The Mexican star is cemented as an icon for the Black and Gold

Carlos Vela’s six seasons with LAFC were iconic. He was the face of a club that took MLS by storm.

Vela is the architect of the greatest individual season in MLS history, which has not been replicated by any other superstar — not Lionel Messi, David Beckham, Landon Donovan, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Sebastian Giovinco or anyone else. Vela’s 34 goals and 19 assists in 2019 is the pinnacle. He set records for most goals and most combined goal contributions. He was named MLS MVP.

In all, Vela had 78 goals and 42 primary assists in 152 MLS appearances with LAFC. His final season was still productive, with nine goals and seven assists in just over 2,000 minutes.

During his six seasons with the club, Vela led LAFC to win two Supporters’ Shields (2019, 2022) and one MLS Cup (2022). He also took them to two CONCACAF Champions League finals, although they lost both.

Vela left Real Sociedad to join LAFC ahead of their debut in 2018. He was an excellent LaLiga winger, starring for the Basque club where he was twice named the club’s player of the year, forming a productive partnership with Griezmann.

With all his talent, Vela has had criticisms of not living up to his ability. Still, Vela led Mexico to its first world title at the 2005 FIFA Under-17 World Cup, eventually earning a transfer to Arsenal before accruing all of his club accolades with Sociedad and LAFC.

As speculation about his future continued this year, Vela posted some photos of life back in Southern California, and later in the summer from Italy and France. None of these pictures include a ball and a pitch. No goal celebrations, and no highlights from as magical a left foot as MLS has ever seen.

If this is farewell, hopefully Vela gets his lap of honor one day. Only if he wants it, of course.