Carlos Vela

Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (born 1 March 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer. He played as a winger who captained MLS club Los Angeles FC.

Carlos Vela

Vela with Mexico at the 2018 FIFA World Cup
Personal information
Full name	Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido[1]
Date of birth	(1989-03-01) 1 March 1989 (age 36)
Place of birth	Cancún, Mexico
Height	1.78 m (5 ft 10 in)[2]
Position(s)	Forward, winger, attacking midfielder
Youth career
2002–2005	Guadalajara
2005–2006	Arsenal
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2005–2012	Arsenal	29	(3)
2005–2006	→ Celta Vigo (loan)	0	(0)
2006–2007	→ Salamanca (loan)	31	(8)
2007–2008	→ Osasuna (loan)	33	(3)
2010–2011	→ West Bromwich Albion (loan)	8	(2)
2011–2012	→ Real Sociedad (loan)	35	(12)
2012–2018	Real Sociedad	184	(54)
2018–2023	Los Angeles FC	152	(78)
International career
2005	Mexico U17	8	(5)
2007	Mexico U20	8	(0)
2007–2018	Mexico	72	(19)
Medal record Representing  Mexico Winner FIFA U-17 World Championship 2005 Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2009 Winner CONCACAF Gold Cup 2015
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 22 October 2023

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 3 September 2020^[3][4][5][6]

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			National cup[a]		League cup[b]		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Salamanca (loan)	2006–07	Segunda División	31	8	1	0	—		—		—		32	8
Osasuna (loan)	2007–08	La Liga	33	3	—		—		—		—		33	3
Arsenal	2008–09	Premier League	14	1	4	1	3	4	8[c]	0	—		29	6
	2009–10	Premier League	11	1	4	0	2	1	5[c]	0	—		22	2
	2010–11	Premier League	4	1	1	0	4	0	4[c]	2	—		13	3
	Total		29	3	9	1	9	5	17	2	—		64	11
West Bromwich Albion (loan)	2010–11	Premier League	8	2	—		—		—		—		8	2
Real Sociedad (loan)	2011–12	La Liga	35	12	2	0	—		—		—		37	12
Real Sociedad	2012–13	La Liga	35	14	2	0	—		—		—		37	14
	2013–14	La Liga	37	16	7	2	—		8[c]	3	—		52	21
	2014–15	La Liga	29	9	1	1	—		2[d]	0	—		32	10
	2015–16	La Liga	35	5	1	0	—		—		—		36	5
	2016–17	La Liga	35	9	4	1	—		—		—		39	10
	2017–18	La Liga	13	1	2	0	—		2[d]	0	—		17	1
	Total		184	54	17	4	—		12	3	—		213	61
Los Angeles FC	2018	MLS	28	14	2	1	1	0	—		—		31	15
	2019	MLS	31	34	3	2	2	2	—		—		36	38
	2020	MLS	7	4	—		1	0	5[e]	5	—		13	9
	2021	MLS	20	5	—		—		—		—		20	5
	2022	MLS	32	12	3	0	3	0	—		—		38	12
	2023	MLS	34	9	0	0	1	0	8[e]	3	2[f]	2	45	14
	Total		152	78	8	3	8	2	13	8	2	2	183	93
Career total			472	160	37	8	17	7	42	13	2	2	570	190

1. Includes Copa del Rey, FA Cup and U.S. Open Cup
2. Includes EFL Cup and MLS Cup Playoffs
3. Appearances in UEFA Champions League
4. Appearances in UEFA Europa League
5. Appearances in CONCACAF Champions League
6. One appearance and two goals in Leagues Cup, appearance in Campeones Cup

International

As of 2 July 2018^[7]

Mexico national team
Year	Apps	Goals
2007	2	1
2008	11	3
2009	9	3
2010	11	2
2011	2	0
2014	2	2
2015	11	4
2016	1	0
2017	15	3
2018	8	1
Total	72	19

International goals

Scores and results list Mexico's goal tally first.^[8]

Goal	Date	Venue	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition
1.	16 October 2007	Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, Los Angeles, United States	Guatemala	1–1	2–3	Friendly
2.	8 June 2008	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Peru	3–0	4–0
3.	15 June 2008	Reliant Stadium, Houston, United States	Belize	1–0	2–0	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
4.	21 June 2008	Estadio Universitario, San Nicolás de los Garza, Mexico		1–0	7–0
5.	23 June 2009	Georgia Dome, Atlanta, United States	Venezuela	1–0	4–0	Friendly
6.	26 July 2009	Giants Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	United States	america undefeated	5–0	2009 CONCACAF Gold Cup
7.	10 October 2009	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	El Salvador	4–1	4–1	2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
8.	3 March 2010	Rose Bowl, Pasadena, United States	New Zealand	2–0	2–0	Friendly
9.	3 June 2010	Stade Roi Baudouin, Brussels, Belgium	Italy	1–0	2–1
10.	12 November 2014	Amsterdam ArenA, Amsterdam, Netherlands	Netherlands	1–0	3–2
11.				2–1
12.	9 July 2015	Soldier Field, Chicago, United States	Cuba	2–0	6–0	2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup
13.	15 July 2015	Bank of America Stadium, Charlotte, United States	Trinidad and Tobago	2–0	4–4
14.	13 October 2015	Estadio Nemesio Díez, Toluca, Mexico	Panama	1–0	1–0	Friendly
15.	13 November 2015	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	El Salvador	3–0	3–0	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
16.	1 June 2017	MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States	Republic of Ireland	3–0	3–1	Friendly
17.	11 June 2017	Estadio Azteca, Mexico City, Mexico	United States	1–1	1–1	2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
18.	10 October 2017	Estadio Olímpico Metropolitano, San Pedro Sula, Honduras	Honduras	2–1	2–3
19.	23 June 2018	Rostov Arena, Rostov-on-Don, Russia	South Korea	0-295	2–1	2018 FIFA World Cup

Honours

Los Angeles FC

• MLS Cup: 2022
• Supporters' Shield: 2019,^[9] 2022

Mexico U17

• FIFA U-17 World Championship: 2005

Mexico

• CONCACAF Gold Cup: 2009, 2015
• CONCACAF Cup: 2015

Individual

• FIFA U-17 World Championship Golden Boot: 2005
• Real Sociedad Player of the Year: 2011–12, 2013–14
• La Liga Player of the Month: December 2013, November 2014
• MLS All-Star: 2018,^[10] 2019,^[11] 2022^[12]
• MLS Best XI: 2018, 2019,^[13] 2022^[14]
• MLS Player of the Month: March 2019,^[15] April 2019,^[16] September 2019^[17]
• MLS Golden Boot: 2019^[18]
• MLS MVP Award: 2019^[19]
• CONCACAF Champions League Team of the Tournament: 2020, 2023^[20]
• Best MLS Player ESPY: 2022^[21]