Behind the scenes of Carlos Vela's return to LAFC

Yesterday at 02:05 PM

LAFC club legend Carlos Vela walked into the training facility on Monday as a player for the first time in nine months, re-claiming his untouched locker, and sharing hugs with teammates in a Black and Gold family reunion.

"When nine months ago the league ended, I didn't realize it was the last game," Vela shared. "After all that long period it was missing something. In the end, it was [about] having a good end, knowing it's the end of the career. That's why we're back. After all that many years you have to end in a good way."

A week earlier, LAFC communicated to Vela's representatives that if he wanted to return, it would be now or never with the MLS roster freeze deadline approaching on Friday, September 13th. Immediately, the fire was reignited to strike a deal between the two but with only a few days remaining they were up against the clock. 

Evidenced by the fact that LAFC never gave Vela a formal goodbye throughout the season, there was always a desire for him to return but the restrictions of MLS roster rules led to frustration on both sides with weeks turning to months as they searched for a resolution.

Luckily, "for reasons we don’t need to rehash with budgets and our constraints," LAFC General Manager and Co-President John Thorrington explained to a select group of media, "that did change this summer."

Although Thorrington bought more than he sold this summer, allocation income from the transfer of Mamadou Fall to FC Barcelona and opting for the new MLS U22 roster structure helped provide the funds for Vela's signing (and potentially more moves next season).

On the flip side, Vela, who was always a designated player for LAFC in the past allowing him to earn above the maximum MLS salary, was required to take a pay cut to return without a DP or even TAM (targeted allocated money) contract financially available.

"Sometimes you have to make decisions for your career, in my case, and I don’t like at all what happened in that time and I decided don’t accept it," Vela shared. "That’s it. Simple like that because it’s sports, it’s business, and we have to do what we have to do.

"Of course, life changes, time always changes your mind. You can see different situations, different perspectives about what has happened, how you want to end your career…When the chance came back or reopened it was a different scenario and we decided another thing."

By Wednesday, two days out from the deadline, negotiations had been completed with official contracts signed and sealed by 2 pm on Friday, still with hours to spare before the 5 pm deadline.

"There should not be this perception that there was some drag-out fight here. I think it was; this is what we’re able to do, this is how we see things, and Carlos on his side the same," Thorrington noted. "It was never contentious. I mean, we did this over meals and sitting down and we just, unfortunately, could not find that common ground until last week."

Regarding the 2025 club option on Vela's contract — something Thorrington insisted is unrelated to attempts to entice Vela's friend Antoine Griezmann to the club next season — LAFC's GM expects a much smoother decision-making process.

"I think it’ll be an ongoing conversation with Carlos, and in this instance, contrary to what occurred unfortunately at the beginning of this year, I don’t see any possibility that we’re not going to be aligned," Thorrington forecasted. "Either Carlos is really enjoying it, doing really well — I see our goals and objectives 100% in alignment in an ongoing conversation as to what makes sense."

But with uncertainty regarding the Mexican's fitness after months away from the game, are these decisions made based on sentimentality or Vela's expected effectiveness on the pitch?

For 2024 at least, “just to hedge the bet, I’d say 50/50," Thorrington responded. "I think it definitely was not just on the field, it wasn’t just legacy, but it was both."

There is also a continual effort at LAFC to balance the youth with experience — a lesson learned for Thorrington through the lockdown of the Covid-19 pandemic — which Vela's leadership will undoubtedly enhance alongside new legendary French teammates Hugo Lloris and Olivier Giroud.

"I think Carlos will be the same leader that he always was. I think in the two guys you mentioned, Olivier and Hugo, they are very humble [and] lead by example," Thorington said. "They’re not trying to box out anybody from any sort of presence in leadership and what have you. So I think, in fact, they will all appreciate having each other more and more."

For the majority of the team who played with Vela last season, a sense of normalcy returned where a Vela-sized hole had been present all season. As Thorrington hammered home, the club just didn't feel the same without him.

"I don't say this lightly," prefaced Thorrington, "but LAFC is not who we are and we have not achieved what we have achieved without Carlos Vela."

Chasing another top-of-the-West finish with a U.S. Open Cup final on the horizon, Vela's laundry list of achievements at LAFC may yet get a bit longer before he hangs up his boots. Walking off into the sunset with a trophy in his hands would be the dream scenario for Thorrington, every LAFC fan, and of course, Vela himself.

"I don’t come just for vacation. I want to finish my career playing as best I can," Vela said. "Of course, if we can win some trophy it will be amazing for the end of this long period of my life [to] close it in that way. That’s why I’m here."