Carlos Vela had the potential to be a world star, but since the age of 29 he has been conquering “only” MLS. Why hasn’t he fulfilled his talent?

Carlos Vela is now 33 years old, captain of the Los Angeles Galaxy, and he certainly can’t consider his career a bad one. However, he certainly hasn’t fulfilled his potential. Why?

Arsene Wenger could not have overlooked such a talent

Carlos Vela was one of Mexico’s greatest talents. He started his career in Guadalajara. But he didn’t even make it to the senior team. He was the top scorer at the 2005 U-17 World Cup and joined Arsenal at the end of that year.

His talent could not be overlooked. And if Arsene Wenger has chosen you, that means something. Few have had such an eye for talent. However, before he tried him in the A-team, he sent him on loan to Salamanca and Osasuna.

He played sporadically for Arsenal between 2008 and 2012. But he didn’t play much. You could see he had potential. But something was missing. So he played 64 games for the Gunners, scoring 11 goals and adding 10 assists.

He scored a hat-trick on his debut, helping the Gunners to a 6-0 cup win over Sheffield United. “He is naturally gifted, fast, intelligent and with great technique. Now it’s just adding the fight and determination that make the difference. Then he will become a world-class player,” Wenger was quoted by Sky Sports.

Moreover, Vela has had discipline problems. He showed these even during the national team meetings. After one of the games in 2010, he threw a party, earning him a six-month suspension. Moreover, there was a lot of talk in Mexico about Vela not taking football seriously enough. This only confirmed the suspicions.

In Spain, he finally shone brightly

In the summer of 2011, Carlos Vela went to Spain, specifically to Real Sociedad. And that’s where things started to look up. The Mexican was scoring goals, passing the ball. He was showing all his skills to the full. He was doing great. A comfortable life, no excessive ambition or pressure. Everything was going like clockwork.

He was one of the best players in La Liga. In total, he played 250 games for the club with a very good record of 73 goals and 43 assists. Only one foreign player has played more games for Real Sociedad. He is also one of the top ten scorers.

At the age of 29, he left for the USA

In January 2018, Carlos Vela headed to the USA to build his legacy. He signed with Los Angeles FC to become one of the leading stars of the entire overseas MLS. And that’s exactly what happened. He is the captain and the driving force at his club.

What’s more, he broke the record for most goals scored in a season, beating Zlatan Ibrahimovic in the battle for the 2019 King of Scorers crown with 34 goals. In total, he played almost 130 duels for LAFC and netted over 70 goals, adding over 40 assists.

Vela has won over many fans. His jerseys are among the best sellers across the MLS. He is currently 33 years old. He is well respected by the club and looks like he may be around for a while.

What went wrong?

As Arsene Wenger has already been quoted, Carlos Vela had everything, he just didn’t have enough grit and determination. And he is not alone in seeing the technically gifted Mexican in this way.

“Carlos Vela did not love football. He didn’t love his job. He admitted he preferred to watch other sports. He enjoys basketball,” Mexican journalist Diego Mancera told Sky Sports. Besides, he reportedly lacked dedication.

Source: LAFC, Transfermarkt, Arsenal, Sky Sports