Carlito David (born 15 April 1997) is an English professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester United and the England national team. Born and raised in Nottingham, he broke into the first team at Mansfield Town F.C. during the 2018-19 season, and established himself as one of the best attacking midfielders in League Two. Over the next three years he made 190 official appearances for the team, scoring 74goals. His on the pitch performances helped the Stags earn triple promotion, lifting Mansfield Town F.C. from League Two to the Premier League. He signed for Manchester United in July 2021 for a fee rumored to be around £104.3 million. He currently features as a first-choice player for Manchester United’s midfield and he has even broken through into the England National Team were he consistently partners with Dele Alli and Jordan Henderson in a midfield-three.
Club career
Mansfield Town F.C.
2018–19 season: Promotion from League Two
The 2018–19 season saw Carlito break into the Mansfield Town F.C. first team on a regular basis. He started the Stags’ first league match of the season, and quickly became a household name by the winter festive period. On November 24, 2018 he had one of his best games of the season assisting on all 3 goals in a 3-1 victory over Lincoln City F.C. By this point in the season, Carlito had netted 5 goals and provided 5 assists, helping the Stags collect 36 points from their first 19 games, and vault into second-place. Carlito had the complete game on December 22, 2018, winning man of the match and netting one goal and an assist in a 2-0 victory against Stevenage F.C. Carlito’s performances continued to accelerate as he helped to drive the Stags to the top of League Two by the end of January 2019, and earned the Player of the Month Award. The Stags continued to march on with the help of Carlito as they earned a pivotal three points on February 2, 2019 with a 2-1 come from behind victory against Macclesfield Town. For the remainder of the 2018–18 season Carlito would go on and establish himself as a nearly unstoppable play maker for the Stags. By season’s end, the Stags were crowned EFL League Two champions. All in all he made 53 appearances in all competitions during the 2018–19 season, scoring 18 times, and assisting on another 21 goals.
The FA Cup Miracle of 2018–19
In what will remain one of the unlikeliest runs in FA Cup history, Mansfield Town F.C. went on to punch
above their weight dispatching many teams from leagues above them. Led by Carlito, the Stags pushed on to beat Manchester City 3-1 in the semi-finals, and ultimately finished their miracle run with a 2-1 victory over Arsenal in the finals.
Although FA Cup giant killers are a real thing, miracle runs like this can only happen on the sticks 🎮.
2019–20 season: Promotion from League One
After a stellar first year with the Stags, Carlito started the season brightly, and continued where he left off. Scoring 33 goals and assisting on another 27 goals, Carlito helped the Stags two their second straight promotion in as many years. All in all he made 76 appearances in all competitions during the 2019–20 season, scoring 33 times, and assisting on another 27 goals.
2020–21 season: Promotion from the Championship
With the Stags in the Championship following their double promotion from League Two, the objective was
simple: don’t get relegated. But as you can guess from this virtual story, the Carlito-led Stags did more than just survive. By the end of November 2020, Mansfield Town were sitting top of the league through 18 games. Carlito and the Stags were popping in goals left and right and were taking the Championship by storm. By match week 42, the Stags had run away from the pack opening up a 13 point gap to Aston Villa. On the final day Mansfield Town beat Bristol City 2-1 to lift the EFL Championship trophy. The 2020–21 was a record setting season for the Stags eclipsing the 100 point mark and writing their names in the record books. All in all he made 61 appearances in all competitions during the 2020–21 season, scoring 23 times, and assisting on another 21 goals
Manchester United
On July 7, 2022, Carlito signed for Premier League club Manchester United for a fee rumored to be around £104.3 million. Personal terms of this deal took his weekly wage from £4,500 to £275,000.
2021–22 season: Glory, Glory Man United
Carlito settled right into the midfield trident and by the end of October 2021 he had established himself as one of the world’s best. Playing alongside Frenkie de Jong and Paul Pogba allowed Carlito complete freedom to make plays in support of the front three. His best performance of the year came in a 3-0 away victory over Arsenal on October 23, 2021 where he pulled the strings from midfield and was involved in all three goals. Through the first 12 games of the season Carlito has 4 goals and 3 assists to his name. He is currently 3rd on the squad ranking report behind, Martial and Pogba. In all competitions Carlito has scored 7 times and assisted on 11 goals. At this pace he stands to record double digits goals and assists, and ultimately lead United to Premier League glory. Tune back in as the season progresses.
International career
On March 19, 2019, Carlito was called up to the England senior squad for the UEFA European Qualifiers. He made his debut for England in a 2-1 win against Switzerland on March, 30, 2019.
Carlito would continue to become a mainstay in the English midfield partnering consistently with
Henderson and Alli. By the summer of 2020 he was fully integrated into the England squad and was selected for Euro 2020. In the group stage on Day 1 he scored this peach of a goal in England’s 3-1 win against Romania. On match Day 2 he followed up a boss performance with another stunning goal in a 2-2 draw with Scotland. Ultimately England’s Euro 2020 campaign came to a crashing halt against Croatia in the Round of 16 but Carlito’s legend grew as a result of his boss-play during the campaign.
Player profile
Style of play
Carlito is widely considered one of the best young midfielders of his generation. Similar to Dele Alli, he is also considered an all-round player who can play effectively as a second striker. He can influence the game from a deep lying position but is best positioned in the final third supporting the teams forwards.
Reception and Progression
Carlito is considered one of the world’s most expensive midfielders from a transfer value perspective by
the CIES. His valuation on June 30, 2018 when he started his career at age 21 was £2.0 million. His valuation as of June 30, 2021 at the age of 24 is £104.5 million. His rapid acceleration in value is matched to his rapid acceleration of skill. At the start of his career his overall rating was a 61. Three year later he is rated at 90 and is one of the best midfielders in the world. The chart below details his progression over the past three years:
A Look Back to Chivas USA … A Failed Brand Extension in a Really Good MLS Market
Introduction
On December 17, 2019 Major League Soccer announced it’s coming to Charlotte, North Carolina. In what is likely the last franchise to be added to the fold, I couldn’t help but smile at how far the MLS had come. The Charlotte franchise will be the league’s 30th team, and over the league’s 26 year history only three teams have ceased operations:
Tampa Bay Mutiny (1996 – 2001)
Miami Fusion (1998 – 2001)
Chivas USA (2005 – 2014)
At the same time though, most of the teams in the MLS are losing money, and one insider I know says the whole entire league is bootstrapped together compared to other big-time leagues like the NFL and NBA. With valuations of MLS clubs soaring to record levels in anticipation of the 2023 renegotiation of TV rights, and overall gains in popularity, now is as good a time as ever to look back at the one team on the list of three that didn’t make it but should have… Chivas USA.
On Paper, Demographics Were Favorable
Los Angeles is a city with a deep sporting tradition. Between the Lakers, Dodgers, Kings, Bruins, and Trojans, the City of Angels fields professional and collegiate teams that historically have won a number of Championships. So in the summer of 2004 when the MLS agreed to a second team in LA, the expectations were high. In the shadows of the established LA Galaxy, Chivas USA was born.
Source of Picture: https://www.pewresearch.org/hispanic/2013/08/29/mapping-the-latino-population-by-state-county-and-city/
The lead investor, Jorge Vergara, was a Mexican businessman, film producer, and owner of football club Chivas de Guadalajara of the Mexican 1st division. With his support, Chivas USA modeled itself after its parent club, Chivas de Guadalajara, and set out to build a team in direct contrast to the bourgeois Galaxy across town.
Things Started Relatively Well But Consistency Soon Became a Problem
I used to live in LA around the time Chivas USA was started. In stark contrast to the “posh-wine drinking” LA Galaxy experience, Chivas USA games had real energy and were so dope in the beginning. On average, you had about 15,000 fans at most home games and were treated to scenes like this:
Source of Picture: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
In the inaugural 2005 season, Chivas USA drew 273,284 over 16 home matches and a franchise record 317,432 in Year 2. A deeper look into attendance by year reveals the Chivas USA average attendance in the early years were on par or above the league average.
From 2005 to 2009, Chivas USA made the playoffs four out of five years. But it’s on the field performance quickly dropped off from 2010 onward as the club missed the playoffs every year since 2010. By the final three years of its existence, Chivas USA were bottom of the league in average attendance and bottom of the league in performance.
To put it in more quantifiable terms, of the 320 regular season games played over their 10 year existence, Chivas USA lost 47% of them and drew 25% collecting on average only 36 of the available 96 points each season. Ultimately their tepid on the field performances caught up with them and their fans stopped showing up. Fans simply don’t like to support losing teams, especially fans in Los Angeles.
The US Version of Chivas was a Cheap Substitute for the Real Thing
Following the 2014 season, it was determined that the extension of Chivas de Guadalajara was unsuccessful, and Chivas USA was reacquired by the MLS for $70 million. And while there are numerous on the field reasons for its failure, Chivas USA’s ultimate failure came down to its poorly executed branding plan.
When you say the word “Chivas” in the soccer world without a doubt everyone thinks of Chivas de Guadalajara, arguably the best and most popular club in Mexico. Chivas USA tried everything in its power to match its parent club right down to the Chivas badge and red-and-white-stripped kits. Jorge Vergara even once stated that he intended to hire and field Mexican players only, something that Chivas de Guadalajara actually does.
Source: Chivas USA 2014/15 Kits
Source: Chivas de Guadalajara 2014/15 Kits
Quite simply the concept was to take a team that represented the hopes and dreams of Mexican soccer fans both in Mexico and the United States, and try to capitalize on the Hispanic heritage within Los Angeles and ultimately beyond.
Attempting to leverage the branding success of its parent club was a smart strategic decision, but the execution of this marketing strategy left a lot to be desired. The truth of the matter is Jorge Vergara simply didn’t want to do the hard work. He didn’t put the financial investment behind Chivas USA because he believed he could easily extend one of soccer’s most venerable brands into the United States. The market was the right fit; his execution was wrong.
By 2014, the Chivas USA experiment hadn’t captured the hearts and minds of the Hispanic populace in Los Angeles, and when the poor on the field results continued, it ultimately all came to a head.
Bad Marketing + Bad Results = Poor Financial Stability
No fan likes supporting a team that consistently loses especially if there aren’t strong ties to that team. Chivas USA’s failure on the marketing/branding side to drive strong ties with Los Angeles fans didn’t give it much room for error on the field.
Throughout its 10-year existence in MLS, Chivas USA’s single-game tickets were moderately priced between $12 to $31. Season tickets ranged from $162 – $1,296 which was on the lower end of the spectrum compared to other teams in the league.
Just considering single-game tickets only, at these prices, the best Chivas USA was able to generate close to $7.0M annually on home-match gate revenue (assuming 16 home matches). By its final two seasons, this had dropped down to under $3.0M annually. Below you see the graphical representation of this precipitous drop.
Revenue sources for a soccer club are more than just gate revenue, but this -8.5% compound annual drop over 10 years didn’t bode well for Chivas USA’s long-term aspirations. Once you start losing on the pitch and losing revenue, it’s hard to turn that ship around. Couple this with the lack of consistent investment from owner Jorge Vergara, and it was curtains.
Bad marketing/branding plus bad on-the-field results led to consistent poor financials. As losses mounted, so did the pressure on Jorge Vergara wallet, and he ultimately left with no choice but to sell the club back to the MLS.
Out of the Ashes Rises LAFC
With the Chivas USA experiment officially done, the MLS turned its attention to reestablishing a second team in Los Angeles. Commissioner Don Garber was convinced that two teams could work in L.A. under the right ownership group; an ownership group that was willing to invest in the club and build from the ground up.
All-in-all Chivas USA suffered from years of mismanagement, subpar branding, and poor results which ultimately ended after the 2014 MLS season when they ceased operations. Jorge Vergara didn’t put forth the right amount of financial resources and effort to really build the US version of Chivas de Guadalajara.
The death of the Chivas USA franchise was a blessing for MLS because out of the ashes rose one of the current best run clubs in all of the league. LAFC is currently achieving something that Chivas USA never did: finding a mainstream fan base and consistently winning on the field.
We all know someone in our lives that seems to catch all of the ‘lucky” breaks. No matter what happens in their lives, the sun seems to always shine on them. But the truth is, luck isn’t as unpredictable as we often make it out to be. Luck is a combination of your preparation, your attitude, an opportunity, and your action. The following from Ben Sherwood’s The Survivors Club and I hope it will help you bring more luck into your life.
Develop a Lucky State of Mind
In Closing
Lucky people are far less random than one would think. In reality how you approach this world and your state of mind determines how much luck you achieve/receive. Unlucky events happen to people and purely random things do sometimes occur. But, the luckiest of us all find a way to see ourselves through these events. Remember, 90% of your life is determined by the way you think.
