Exhale, LAFC fans: Carlos Vela doesn't want to leave. Though he came close this winter to temporarily playing elsewhere, Vela wants to stay at LAFC for the rest of his career.
The runaway Landon Donovan 2019 MLS MVP frontrunner joined BS The Podcast with Benny Feilhaber, Sal Zizzo and Ike Opara last week for an enlightening, and entertaining, conversation.
"It's not only the things I want, football is a business and you know how it works. But I want to be here for the rest of my career," Vela told BS the Podcast. "I'm really happy here, playing in LA. I want to be here."
Vela also opened up on the Barcelona rumors this offseason. The Spanish giants did want Vela on loan and Vela wanted to go on a loan in which he'd return to LAFC this summer, but the move never went through.
"It was really close," Vela admitted. "My second month for holidays, I was there with my piña colada and my agent called me to say 'look, Barcelona is calling you. They want you to play for four months then you can go back to LA.' I said just say yes, I don't care about the money or nothing. I'm going to start training tomorrow, give me two weeks to be a little bit fit. Barcelona, Real Madrid you can't say no. ... If it was only my choice, for sure, I'd take it."
The superstar declined to go into details about why the move did not go through.
Vela, orchestrating one of the best individual seasons in league history as well as leading LAFC to one of the best regular seasons in league history, is playing some of the best soccer in his career.
