Say what you want about Victor Orta – and many Leeds United fans tend to do just that – but the club’s former director of football certainly saw the potential in the one-time Elland Road starlet.
Victor Orta had the good sense to include a sell-on clause in the deal which took Mateusz Bogusz from Leeds United to Los Angeles FC in March 2023.
Eyebrows were raised when the talented Polish playmaker departed Elland Road for around £1 million, especially after an impressive loan spell in Spain with Ibiza had given his reputation a leg-up. But perhaps this was all part of the plan.
Leeds United would sell Bogusz on the cheap, in the knowledge that a much bigger windfall would arrive later down the line should he fulfil his considerable potential in America.
And fulfil his potential, Bogusz certainly did.
Former Leeds United starlet Mateusz Bogusz secures record-breaking LAFC exi
Now 23 years age, the twice-capped Poland international ended 2024 with 20 goals and 11 assists for LAFC. Only the fifth player in the club’s history to hit over 15 goals in a seaosn, the partnership between Bogusz and Dennis Bouanga was also the second-most prosperous in the entire MLS.
There are no prizes for guessing how kept Bogusz and Bouanga off the top of the podium. Ding ding, for all you at home who figured out it was Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. The former Barcelona superstars reunited under the palm trees of Inter Miami.
Mateusz Bogusz had been linked with Celtic and Lazio, to name but two. But, securing a reported £8 million move to Mexican outfit Cruz Azul instead this week, the size of that sell-on clause will determine the size of the windfall coming the way of Leeds United.
“Decisions like this one are never easy,” John Thorrington, the co-president and General Manager of LAFC, says after green-lighting Bogusz departure below the border.
“But, after evaluating all possibilities and engaging with Mati, we have accepted this sizeable offer from Cruz Azul.”
From a financial perspective, LAFC can certainly pat themselves on the back and toast a job well done. Bogusz arrived in Los Angeles after two loan spells at lower-league Spanish clubs and amid rather limited expectations.
He departs, some 18 months later, to a £7 million profit and having inked his name into the club’s admittedly pamphlet-sized history books.
He is now the most expensive sale in LAFC’s ten-year existence.
Bogusz showcased his ‘incredible potential’ in America
“Mati arrived two seasons ago as a player of incredible potential,” a grateful Thorrington adds. “And it has been a pleasure being a part of his development into a star in our league and a full national team player for Poland.
“While Mati will be difficult to replace, the transfer provides significant resources that will help us in our continued goal of building a roster that will win trophies.”
Despite being highly rated in West Yorkshire – fellow Pole Mateusz Klich labelled Bogusz a player of real ‘talent’ – the 2019 signing from Ruch Chorzow would make only one league appearance under Marcelo Bielsa and Jesse Marsch.
Not every youngster can make the grade, of course. And Leeds at least ensured, thanks in part to Victor Orta, that they would benefit financially, if not sportingly, from Bogusz’s eventual rise to prominence on the other side of the Atlantic.
“It will be important for Mateusz Bogusz to play,” Poland coach Michal Probierz tells reporters following the confirmation of his switch to Cruz Azul. “We will see and evaluate this league.
“In public opinion, the league is very strong and you can develop there.”
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