'Doesn't matter' - Lionel Messi's arrival doesn't scare MLS top shirt seller Carlos Vela as LAFC remain dominant force

• LAFC won MLS title last year
• Again a favorite for trophy
• Inter Miami struggling

WHAT HAPPENED? The Mexican forward isn't worried about a short-term MLS title shake-up after Messi arrives, despite the World Cup winner's obvious talents. LAFC are currently third in the Western Conference with fewer matches played than the clubs above them. Inter Miami, meanwhile, are last in the Eastern Conference and at risk of missing the playoffs entirely.

Vela is currently the top shirt seller in MLS, though that's likely to change once Messi is introduced.

WHAT THEY SAID: “[Messi's arrival] is great news for MLS, but I still think that we are still the ones who want to win the title," Vela told TUDN. "It doesn't matter who is on the other teams. Plans don't change.”

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Messi's announcement last week that he would snub Barcelona and Saudi Arabia interest to join Inter Miami is a pivotal moment in the growth of MLS, but he will join the 2023 campaign midway through the action and may struggle to save his new team from missing the playoffs.

IN TWO PHOTOS:

Getty/GOAL

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WHAT NEXT? Vela, who has scored four goals in 14 MLS games this season, will try to lead LAFC to the first seed in the Western Conference playoffs before the end of the campaign.