EDITOR'S NOTE: This piece originally ran on March 26, 2020.
Is LAFC forward Carlos Vela the best Mexican player right now? Or does that honor belong to Raul Jimenez, the Wolverhampton Wanderers striker?
Not too long ago, guys at ESPNFC — Sebastian Salazar, Herc Gomez and Alejandro Moreno — debated this topic, as well as the parameters of the question.
Of course, Vela, who shattered the MLS regular for goals in a single season with 34 a year ago en route to winning Landon Donovan MLS MVP honors, hasn’t played for the Mexican national team since the 2018 FIFA World Cup.
However, he’s scored for Arsenal in the Premier League, Real Sociedad in Spain’s La Liga and everywhere in between, and Vela’s strike record in MLS is without question.
In fact, already in just two games of the 2020 season, the 31-year-old has a pair of goals, putting him on pace to match last year’s record-setting total.
Jimenez, who is three years younger than Vela, has 13 goals in 29 Premier League games this year and another nine combined in Europa League qualification and Europa League for Wolves.
He has 23 goals in 81 appearances for El Tri and has been a fairly regular contributor since his debut against Denmark in an international friendly in 2013.
