As if there was ever any doubt, today Carlos Vela was officially named the 2019 MLS MVP.
*Ahem* Excuse me, the “2019 Landon Donovan Major League Soccer Most Valuable Player.”
Vela received the award from the commissioner during a ceremony (seen above) that took place at Banc of California Stadium in the heart of Los Angeles earlier today. He was awarded the 2019 MLS Golden Boot last month at the conclusion of the regular season after posting 34 goals and shattering the all-time goal scoring record set only last year by Atlanta FC’s Josef Martinez.
In what was unquestionably the great season ever completed by an individual in the history of Major League Soccer, Vela’s numbers are borderline unbelievable.
Vela scored a total of 34 goals in only 31 games played in the regular season, good enough for number one on the list of all-time goals-per-game average (1.12 gpg). He had 11 goals and five assists in his first 10 matches of 2019, and scored his first 20 goals in exactly 20 games, making him the first person to ever reach that mark. He also led the league in shots and shots on goal during the regular season.
Not content to merely finish everything in front of the net, Vela enjoyed tremendous success setting up his teammates as well. He tallied 15 assist during the regular season, which placed him third in the league in 2019. His 34 goals and 15 assists for a combined 49 goals contributed to smashes the old MLS record of 38, set by Toronto FC striker Sebastian Giovinco in 2015. Giovinco is the only other person to reach the 20 goals/15 assist mark with his 22 and 16.
Carlos Vela was at 38 goals/assists by August after only 23 games. He was already a lock for the MVP with two months of the season to play. Then he kept scoring, eventually creating a new and even more exclusive club — 30 goals and 15 assists.
There is only one member of the 30/15 club. His name is Carlos Vela.
Carlos Vela 2019 MLS MVP
- 34 goals (1st all-time)
- 25 goals from open play (1st all-time)
- 9 penalty goals (1st)
- 15 assists (3rd)
- 160 shots (1st)
- 71 shots on goal (1st)
- 1.12 goals-per-game average (1st all-time)
- MLS All-Star Game Captain (2nd consecutive year)
- 3x MLS Player of the Month
- 7x MLS Player of the Week
- 17x MLS Team of the Week
The 2019 MLS MVP captained LAFC to a number of all-time number one spots of their own. Helping LAFC capture the Supporters’ Shield and the top seed in the playoffs, Vela led his club to the the record for points in a season (72), the highest ever goal differential in league history (+48), and the they tied the single-season team scoring record with 85 goals.
As a point of national pride, Vela is the first player of Mexican descent to win MLS MVP. And after two seasons he already has the most career goals by any Mexican player in the history of the league.
It’s no wonder he was named 2019 MLS MVP in such a landslide with 70% of the total vote.
| MLS MVP | PLAYER % | CLUB % | MEDIA % | FINAL % |
| Carlos Vela (LAFC) | 80.33% | 64.65% | 63.85% | 69.61% |
| Zlatan Ibrahimović (GAL) | 6.89% | 13.13% | 22.31% | 14.11% |
| Josef Martínez (ATL) | 5.90% | 8.08% | 6.92% | 6.97% |
| Maxi Moralez (NYC) | 0.66% | 8.08% | 4.23% | 4.32% |
| Héber (NYC) | 0.66% | 2.02% | 0.38% | 1.02% |
