The rest of Vela’s numbers strain believability. He is one of just 13 players in MLS history to record at least 75 goals and 50 assists, and the only player to hit those marks in just six seasons. In 2022—the year he backed up his promise to bring an MLS Cup to Los Angeles—Vela became the third-fastest player in MLS history to reach 100 goal contributions, getting there in just 98 games.
His last full season was one of his best. Vela helped LAFC enjoy a historic 2023 campaign, playing in a career-high 34 regular-season games and 48 of LAFC’s league-record 53 total games in all competitions, recording nine league goals and seven assists as the Black & Gold reached its second straight MLS Cup Final.
A four-time MLS All-Star, three-time MLS Best XI selection, two-time Concacaf Champions Cup Best XI honoree, and 2019 MLS MVP, Vela’s impact on his new league and his new city has been as full as his trophy case. Vela’s presence in the greater Los Angeles area, home to approximately 5 million people of Mexican descent, gave that community a matinee idol, a success story, and a world-class athlete all rolled into one. Major League Soccer benefitted from his arrival as much as LAFC did. Vela stands as one of the most important signings in the league’s thirty-year history, alongside David Beckham (2007) and Lionel Messi (2023), providing the maturing league with an international star who converted millions of Mexican fans into MLS followers, and paving the way for other coveted Europeans, like Giorgio Chiellini, Gareth Bale, and Denis Bouanga, to follow him to the world’s city. Each of those players has cited Vela as the reason they first became aware of LAFC, and among the reasons they joined the Black & Gold.