‘Chicharito’ says retirement remark misunderstood
Javier Hernandez was greeted by hundreds of LA Galaxy fans as he arrived at LAX. (1:26)
New LA Galaxy signing Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is looking forward to lifting trophies in Major League Soccer and said everything is in place for him to succeed, with retirement not on his mind.
The striker, who practiced with his new team for the first time on Thursday, got emotional during a video call to his parents on his YouTube show “Naked Humans” when explaining his decision to join MLS and stated that “it’s the beginning of retirement,” but after criticism from some quarters the 31-year-old former Sevilla striker set the record straight.
“It’s so simple,” said Hernandez in Thursday’s introductory press conference. “I think all over the world, but [especially] in my country we love and we are like obsessed with drama and excess.
“And so when you say ‘retirement’ it’s like ‘oh, tomorrow he’s going to announce retirement,'” he continued. “They didn’t really listen to what I said, ‘the beginning of the retirement.’ The retirement could last 10 years, you never know.”
Hernandez returns to North America after almost 10 years in Europe and has no regrets about a career there that included successful stints at Manchester United, Bayer Leverkusen and Real Madrid, picking up two Premier League winners medals and the Club World Cup title.
“I did everything that I could,” said the Guadalajara native. “There were people who didn’t play me and let me express myself as I would’ve liked, but it’s part of football.
“I come back as a Mexican football legend, as much as some may be bothered by that.”
Hernandez described the move to Galaxy as a “win, win, win, win” and mentioned that his ambitions have no limits, given that he’s already achieved more than he thought imaginable.
“To go from doubting whether to retire at Chivas, to playing at Manchester United within a year and a half,” said Hernandez. “To go through the retirement of Alex Ferguson, who most of humanity, and myself, thought would never retire from Manchester United. He retired when I was there. And I scored the last goal of his era.
“How do I imagine it [at Galaxy]? I signed for three years plus an additional one, hopefully there are four years and each year brings a title.”
Hernandez’s transfer to the Galaxy also heralds a new era in the fledgling “El Trafico” rivalry with LAFC and reigning MLS MVP Carlos Vela, who played in Chivas’ youth teams alongside Hernandez. The two friends spoke about Hernandez’s move, but the former Manchester player wasn’t giving much away: “We’re not going to say what we talked about.”
The striker replaces Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who scored 52 goals in two seasons with the Galaxy, ahead of MLS’ 25th season and is due to start training on Friday, with his MLS debut set for Feb. 29 on the road against the Houston Dynamo.