Javier Hernandez
Chicharito joins Galaxy in huge coup for MLS
Filling the shoes of Zlatan Ibrahimovic was never going to be an easy task, but LA Galaxy looked to have pulled off one of the most significant signings in the history of MLS with the arrival of Javier Hernandez from Sevilla.
The 31-year-old, aka Chicharito (“the Little Pea”), arrives in California after 10 years in Europe, with Manchester United, Real Madrid, Bayer Leverkusen, West Ham United and Sevilla, and will receive a $6million salary for each of the three years of his contract.
Mexico’s all-time top international goalscorer and the country’s most popular player of his generation will bring new eyeballs and interest in MLS in a way that not even the likes of Ibrahimovic and David Beckham managed to do.
Signing the sport’s biggest star in North America is a no-brainer for MLS. The league still lags way behind the Mexican Liga MX and the English Premier League when it comes to attracting TV viewers. But almost 37million of the USA’s population see themselves as of full or partial Mexican origin, while Los Angeles has the country’s second-largest Hispanic population with 1.8 million, behind only New York’s 2.27 million.
Hernandez’s move to MLS is part of a wider trend of established players moving from the Mexican league to the USA.
Ahead of the new season, Alan Pulido (Guadalajara to Sporting Kansas City), Oswaldo Alanis (Guadalajara to San Jose Earthquakes), Edison Flores (Morelia to DC United) and Lucas Cavallini (Puebla to Vancouver Whitecaps) all moved from the Liga MX to MLS.
Part of Hernandez’s popularity stems from his modest personality. He has gained a huge following on YouTube for his reality-video series in which he gives a glimpse into his life beyond the pitch. In one episode he is recorded making an emotional phone call to his parents, reflecting on his departure from Sevilla for a final career chapter in Los Angeles.
“It’s like the beginning of my retirement,” he says in a comment that sparked enormous reaction on social media, but he goes on to add: “What I mean is, that we’re saying goodbye to a career that we put a lot of effort on.”
While much attention has been paid to the player’s marketing appeal, there is no doubting his footballing talents will boost Galaxy’s on-pitch efforts.
For Galaxy this season the challenge is to go one better than last year, when they lost in the play-off semi-finals to city rivals Los Angeles FC.
The derby match will now have added spice when Hernandez comes face to face with his international team-mate Carlos Vela, voted the league’s best player last year.
Few would bet against the Little Pea becoming the MVP of 2020.
John Holmesdale