Mexico's all-time leading scorer is coming to MLS. It's a huge win for the league, which has long courted Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez, one of the most marketable players in the world.
It's a win for the LA Galaxy, who needed to replace the production that exited when Zlatan Ibrahimovic left for AC Milan.
It's pretty much a win for everyone.
So how can we make it feel like a loss? MLS fans' insecurities were on display this week, with critics' ears perked up as they heard the word 'retirement' come out of the mouth of the league's newest crown jewel.
"It's the start of the process of retiring, you know," Chicharito says as he chats with his father in a video released on the Naked Humans YouTube channel.
His dad, a former player himself who played for El Tri at the 1986 World Cup, tries to talk him down, but the younger Hernandez insists. "No, no, Dad, but what I want...I'm saying goodbye - and we're saying goodbye - to a career in which we worked a lot and I know you guys feel it as well and we're going to see the positive side and it's going to be amazing.
"But if we want it or not, we're now retiring from the European dream."
Whether you think the full context is important - Hernandez implies it's the start of the process of retiring, not that he feels like his career is over - it is worth noting that Chicharito is right. This is the way we always thought Hernandez's career would play out. He'd press on in Europe until he felt its was the appropriate moment to cash in on a big payday in MLS. With his star power still high in the U.S. and his playing time low in Europe, the time has come.
That's not the case for every player joining MLS, however. Signing Chicharito as he approaches the end of his career does not negate the fact that MLS are signing up-and-coming players from other leagues much more frequently and also are developing players ripe for export to Europe's biggest leagues.
MLS continues to improve, not overnight, but over the long haul. Signing Chicharito, whether he plays well for one season or five, only helps MLS on and off the field. Chicharito grappling with the coming end of his own playing career is no indictment on the league. Plus, as the player himself said Thursday, it's entirely possible he plays for some time more.
"We’ll see how long it’s going to be," he said at his introductory news conference. "Hopefully the beginning is going to last so long and I will retire at 40 in Australia, I’m just saying that as an example because if I mention Mexico now, again, all the drama, so I mention another thing."
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Hernandez is a thoughtful player - for every pithy "Imaginemos cosas chingonas" rallying cry there are deeper ruminations about how humans find their fulfillment in life, the way Mexican society treats its celebrities or how Liga MX players should go about organizing to make things more fair for players in a league where the power balance has long been firmly on the side of ownership.
Even the fact that video was released shows his spirit. The content came out as part of the forward's Naked Humans project, a vlog series with Hernandez, his wife, Diego Dreyfus - a motivational coach of sorts who rejects the coach label - and photographer Niccolo de Zambiasi.
It is footage Hernandez and his camp wanted released. They even subtitled it for English-speaking followers to understand more easily.
"We believe that everyone in the world shall be free from the expectations and judgement of others. Untouched by what others think. Being shamelessly YOU." says the mantra on the Naked Humans webpage.
While it may be marketing speak, it is what we got with the release of the video. We saw Hernandez in a raw moment speaking with his family and pondering the ramifications of a big decision he was about to make.
More than any sort of indication on where Hernandez feels MLS stacks up against La Liga, the Premier League or the Bundesliga, the vlog should serve as a reminder that athletes are human. Even with the luxuries a superstar athlete is able to enjoy, moving from Seville to Los Angeles brings challenges with it.
For a player who so long has had his identity shaped by being the absolute best and being among the elite, a move from La Liga to MLS also has to bring about certain emotions. Hernandez always has rejected those types of judgements.
He is quick to point out that whether he is in form and scoring 10 goals a month or if he cannot put a shot on goal, his worth as a human being does not change. No matter how many times we espouse a truth, however, we can always use reminding.
He is right. He is right about nearly everything. This is the start of his retirement process - though as his family reminds him it is not necessarily the last time he will play in Europe.
Rafa Marquez won another two titles in Liga MX after his dalliance with MLS and still ended his career with a stopover in Italy before closing it out in Mexico. He is right that his career will be over before he knows it.
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Most importantly, he is right when he says we need to remember that he and other players we watch in the stadium or on TV each weekend are human beings. They are humans with goals that sometimes they have to compromise on. They are human beings who have to think about the sacrifices their parents made to get them to the places where they are. They are human beings whose decisions and desires affect more than simply them, but their wives, children, friends and loved ones.
The takeaway from Hernandez choking back tears as he talks with his father about the European dream coming to an end should not be, 'He's viewing MLS as a step down,' but rather 'He realizes he's entering a new stage of his life, taking on a new challenge and dealing with the implications of this next step.'
Change is tough. Getting older is scary. Even for our heroes who we too often think have no feelings or fear.
As much as we might not like it, life is more than soccer. We may need to listen closely to words from El Chicharo:
"Let me explain something," the elder Hernandez says. "When you’re young, you look for the achievements, the trophies, always trying to be on top. Soccer is like that. You can’t be have this same line the entire way. We have high and low points in our soccer career, but right now, son, you’re in a beautiful stage of your life."
Let's all enjoy it for what it is.