Carlos Alberto Vela Garrido (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈkaɾ.los ˈβe.la]; born 1 March 1989) is a Mexican professional footballer who most recently played for Major League Soccer club Los Angeles FC.

In January 2018, he joined Los Angeles FC, winning the Supporters' Shield and the MLS Golden Boot in his second year, and setting a new league record for most goals in a season, with 34.

After winning the 2005 FIFA U-17 World Championship with Mexico and finishing as the top scorer with five goals, Jorge Vergara, owner and club president of Guadalajara, agreed to sign him.

[7] Vela attracted interest from a number of European clubs, and eventually Arsenal won the race for his signature in November 2005 on a five-year deal for a £125,000 fee that rose to £550,000 after he played 50 first-team games.

[16][17] Vela made his competitive debut for Arsenal on 30 August 2008 in their Premier League match against Newcastle United, coming on as a substitute for Robin van Persie in the 63rd minute.

He returned to action on 22 September by coming off the bench in Arsenal's 2–0 win by assisting the first and scoring the second goal against West Bromwich Albion in the League Cup.

Vela once again scored for West Brom in the dying minutes of a game against Stoke City to salvage a 1–1 draw after coming on as a late substitute.

[30] In early February 2012, rumours of Vela's future at Arsenal began to surface, claiming that he wished to stay in Spain with Real Sociedad.

[36] He scored twice, a header and a stoppage-time individual goal, to confirm Real Sociedad's progression to the group stages of the Champions League at Lyon's expense.

[53] On 10 April 2017, Vela played in his 200th league match for Real Sociedad in the side's 3–1 victory against Sporting de Gijón, as well as becoming the foreign player with the second-most appearances for the club behind Darko Kovačević.

[55] Two days later, it was announced that he would join expansion team Los Angeles FC as their first Designated Player when the transfer window opened on 1 January 2018.

[73] Prior to the beginning of the 2019 season, it was reported by Mundo Deportivo that there was interest from Spanish club Barcelona to acquire him on loan,[74] with Vela eventually revealing "It was really close.

[79] On 17 August, Vela scored his 24th goal of the 2019 MLS season from the penalty spot in a 2–0 away win over Real Salt Lake, which saw LAFC clinch the playoffs.

[80][81][82] On 25 September, Vela scored the opening goal in a 3–1 home win over the Houston Dynamo from the penalty spot; the victory saw LAFC clinch the Supporters' Shield.

[87] Los Angeles were eliminated in the Western Conference Finals, following a 3–1 home defeat to the Seattle Sounders on 29 October, in which Vela's impact was heavily stifled by the opposing team, who kept the ball away from him; as such, he only managed one shot on goal during the entire match.

[88] Vela finished the 2019 season by claiming the MLS Most Valuable Player Award for his performances,[89] winning by a significant margin over Galaxy rival Zlatan Ibrahimović and Atlanta United FC forward Josef Martínez.

[91] On 18 February 2020, Vela played his first professional match against a Mexican club, León, in the first leg of that year's CONCACAF Champions League round of 16 which ended in a 0–2 away loss.

On 6 July, Los Angeles FC announced that Vela would be not traveling with the club for the MLS is Back Tournament in Orlando, Florida because of his wife's pregnancy.

[94] Vela returned to action with the team on 22 August, in a 2–0 loss to rivals LA Galaxy,[95] but had to be substituted out due to an injury on his left knee, ruling him out for an indefinite amount of time.

[97][98] On 16 December, following the CONCACAF Champions League's presumption after the COVID-19 pandemic, Vela scored a penalty to equalize for LAFC in their quarter-final victory against Mexican side Cruz Azul, as they came from behind to advance to the next round.

During his stay at Osasuna, Vela made his international debut for the senior national team on 12 September 2007, in a friendly match against Brazil, losing 3–1.

Mexico went on to defeat the United States 5–0 with Vela providing the pass to Giovani dos Santos for the first penalty, creating the second goal, scoring the third and assisting the fourth.

[112] On 10 October 2009, during a World Cup qualifying match against El Salvador, Vela scored one goal and provided an assist in a 4–1 victory, helping Mexico for the tournament.

In September 2013, Víctor Manuel Vucetich called him up for World Cup qualifiers against Panama and Costa Rica; however, Vela declined once again to come back to the national team.

After the meeting, Vela expressed that he was not "100 percent mentally ready to represent Mexico", subsequently ruling out his participation in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

[123] In November 2014, after a three-year absence, Vela accepted a call up from Miguel Herrera to the national team for the friendly matches against the Netherlands and Belarus.

In the quarterfinal and semi-final matches against Costa Rica and Panama, respectively, Vela received two yellow cards, meaning he would miss the final against Jamaica,[128] in which Mexico achieved a 3–1 victory.

[146] Collin Carpio has noted that while Vela is typically deployed on the right wing, he can also play as a striker, commenting in 2016: "[w]hen he's in-form, the 27-year-old can be lethal cutting inside from the flanks, and he's proven that he can setup [sic] goals for his teammates.

"[153] On 4 March 2020, Los Angeles FC announced that Vela had obtained a green card, qualifying him as a domestic player for Major League Soccer roster purposes.

[157] During the 2019 Major League Soccer season Vela appeared in a Target commercial alongside LAFC teammate Adama Diomande and other MLS players.