Los Angeles Football Club manager Bob Bradley has played down every rumour surrounding the future of star striker Carlos Vela, as well as his teammate Latif Blessing, linking them with moves away from the Major League Soccer club.

Bradley is hoping to make history with his team in the Concacaf Champions League tournament and has said both players are his two best talents at the club and will not be expecting that any one of them leaves anytime soon.

Los Angeles FC (LAFC) attacker Carlos Vela has revealed how he came close to joining Spanish La Liga giantsBarcelona last year. He talked about his botched move to Barcelona in an exclusive interview with GQ Mexico magazine earlier this year. The 31-year-old was strongly linked with a move to Barcelona at the start of last year and he wanted to go until LAFC blocked the move. Carlos Vela told the magazine that Barcelona wanted him to sign for them for four months and he was keen to join the Spaniards even if it wasfor a short period of time.
Carlos Vela revealed how LAFC blocked his potential move to Barcelona and that they had every right to protect their interest in not letting him move to the Nou Camp. Barcelona had to turn to Ghanaian international Kevin-Prince Boatengwhen they missed out on Carlos Vela and he rarely played for the club during his six-month stay with the five-time European champions.

Carlos Vela also talked about his hiatus from the Mexico national team. According to him, his decision to stay away from the national team was mainly because of how the players were treated by the football authorities in Mexico. He has not represented his country for over two years.

Mexican international Carlos Vela will spend another season at his Major League Soccer (MLS) club Los Angeles FC (LAFC) after the team made the decision to pick up his contract as a designated player. Each MLS club is entitled to at least three designated players who earn more than the salary cap in the league and ex-Arsenal star Vela is one of the designated players at LAFC.

Carlos Vela is the immediate past Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the MLS after he won the award at the end of the 2019 season and his contract option was picked up by LAFC at the start of this month, while five other players were not offered a new contract.

Reigning Major League Soccer (MLS) Player of the Year Carlos Vela has had an injury ravaged 2020 season but that didn't stop him from being named as one of the top three most expensive players in the top flight of American Soccer. According to transfermarkt, Carlos Vela is the second most expensive player in the MLS. His value increased to $16.5m and the Mexican international is second to Los Angeles FC (LAFC) teammate Diego Rossi in this regard. 22-year-old Uruguyayan striker Rossi is valued at $19.8m.

Vela missed the majority of the 2020 MLS Regular season and that paved the way for Diego Rossi to emerge as the main goalscorer in the Los Angeles FC team. Rossi scored 16 goals plus four assists in 21 appearances. Ex-Arsenal and Real Sociedad star Carlos Vela was restricted to just seven league outings in the regular season due to the knee injury sustained during the derby with LA Galaxy in August. He made a scoring return from thatinjury against the same opposition at the end of last month as his goal wrapped up a 2-0 victory at home to 10-man LA Galaxy. The31-year-old scored four goals plus one assist in seven Regular Season games.

Andy Najar has said that the LA Galaxy striker Javier Hernandez doesn’tcause him any worry as he has Carlos Vela by his side. The newcomer has great belief in the Mexican player and, according to him, he is the best player in the league. Vela in the previous seasons has scored 34 goals and assisted in scoring 15 goals which led him to acquire the Landon Donovan MVP honour.

Los Angeles Football Club missed the presence of Carlos Vela as they lost to Orlando City in the shootout. The club has been doing well without him and has won many big matches. In the tournament, they had done well without him in the first four matches and their attack has been great with them the continuing journey unbeaten.

Mexico international Raul Jimenez has said that the club have done a ‘very big’ achievement since their promotion to the Premier League last season. The west Midlands outfit exceeded expectations during their debut campaign where they finished seventh on the league table and they replicated the performance this term with another seventh place finish.

German legend Lothar Matthaus believes Raul Jimenez could be playing for an elite Premier League club, should he complete the current season on a strong note. The Mexico international has been in impressive form for Wolverhampton Wanderers this term with 22 goals and 10 assists in all competitions and his performances have attracted interest from the likes of Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Carlos Vela may have already achieved a lot in the MLS over the last few years, but he says that the prospect of lifting the MLS Cup remains the biggest motivation. Los Angeles FC were able to set new records in almost every aspect during the 2019 season, as the club’s 72 point return helped them pick up the Supporters’ Shield. The club also ended up with a remarkable +48 goal difference. A huge reason for this extraordinary goal difference was Carlos Vela coming up with 34 goals, which now is a single-season record, and 15 assists.

Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan believes Raul Jimenez has some of the qualities of Robert Lewandowski and he can imagine the Mexico international playing for the Citizens in the future. Jimenez has been with Wolverhampton Wanderers since the summer of 2018 and over the past 20 months, he has bagged an impressively tally of 39 goals and 18 assists from 88 appearances.