Former Arsenal and West Brom player Carlos Vela is on the verge of a move to new Major League Soccer outfit Los Angeles FC. He will join the MLS side on January next year and will end his 12 year stint in Europe.
Vela is currently with La Liga side Real Sociedad but he will join Los Angeles after the opening of winter window. 28-year-old will become LAFC’s first designated player when he arrives in January, as first reported by the Los Angeles Times a couple of months back.
Vela has scored 18 goals for Mexico
“I was fortunate enough to receive offers from many important clubs to leave this summer,” Vela wrote on Twitter. “But because of my love and respect for Real Sociedad’s colors, I’m committed to play for the next six months here and to bring my best every time I step on the field. My goal is to keep helping the team in every one of the competitions ahead.”
Vela spent 6 seasons with Real Sociedad
Joining his new team, Vela said that he was waiting for a move for a long time and he is happy that he has been able to join the perfect team at the right moment of his career. Vela will be the rivals of LA Galaxy, which is another team from Los Angeles and Mexican players Giovani Dos Santos and Jonathan Dos Santos play there.
Vela joined Arsenal in 2006 and since then he has spent his entire professional career in Europe, in the clubs of England and Spain. He joined Sociedad in 2011 on loan and a year later signed permanently for them. Vela has scored 72 goals in total for the Spanish club.
Vela in his Arsenal days
Vela was also poised to join his childhood club Chivas de Guadalajara, but the Mexican side couldn’t fight with LAFC as they claimed they didn’t have enough money to land him.
Andres Guardado
Los Angeles FC also tried to tie down another Mexican star Andres Guardado, but the veteran joined Real Betis instead this summer.
