Carles Gil de Pareja Vicent (born 22 November 1992) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

New England Revolution The New England Revolution is an American professional soccer club based in the Greater Boston area that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), in the Eastern Conference of the league. It is one of the ten charter clubs of MLS, having compet ...

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The league comprises 29 teams—26 in the U.S. and 3 in Canada ...

. He began his career at

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, Valencia and the Municipalities of Spain, third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is ...

, playing mostly in their reserves and making his debut with the first team in 2014. He also spent two seasons on loan at

Elche Elche ( ca-valencia, Elx) is a city and municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2014 data, Elche has a population of 228,647 inhabitants,La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

. After a spell in the

Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Foo ...

with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club competes in the , the top tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1874, they have played at their home ground, Villa Park ...

and a return to Spain with

Deportivo La Coruña ''Deportivo'' (Spanish, 'sporting') may refer to: * Deportivo de La Coruña, commonly known as simply Deportivo, a Spanish football club * Déportivo, a French rock band * Deportivo (Mexicable) Mexicable is a aerial lift line in Ecatepec de Mo ...

, he signed for the

Club career

Valencia

Born in

Valencian Community The Valencian Community ( ca-valencia, Comunitat Valenciana, es, Comunidad Valenciana) is an autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid with ...

, Gil was a product of

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

's youth system, having joined the club at the age of five. He made his senior debut at only 17 with the reserves by playing one game in

Segunda División B Segunda División B ( en, Second Division B) was the third tier of the Spanish football league system containing 102 teams divided into five groups, until it was replaced by the new structure in 2021. It was administered by the Royal Spanish Foot ...

, being brought to the main squad for the 2010, 2011 and 2012 pre-seasons and scoring the third goal in the latter against

SV Rödinghausen SV Rödinghausen is a German association football club from the town of Rödinghausen, North Rhine-Westphalia. The club's greatest success has been to earn promotion to the tier four Regionalliga West in 2014. History For most of its history ...

(4–0 away win). Shortly after, he earned a professional contract until 2016. Gil was loaned to neighbouring

Elche CF Elche Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Elx Club de Futbol, S.A.D.) is a professional football based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded in 1923, the club competes in La Liga, holding home matches at ''Estadi ...

for the 2012–13 campaign. He first played in

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commercially known as LaLiga SmartBank for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spanish football league system. Administrated by the Lig ...

on 19 August 2012, starting in a home game against

SD Ponferradina Sociedad Deportiva Ponferradina, S.A.D. is a Spanish football team based in Ponferrada, in the El Bierzo region, in the autonomous community of Castile and León. Founded on 7 June 1922, it plays in Segunda División, holding home matches at the ...

and netting in an eventual 4–2 win. He scored in the following match, a 2–1 victory at Hércules CF. After being a very important attacking unit as the club returned to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men's ...

after nearly 25 years, Gil remained with Elche for 2013–14, still owned by the ''Che''. He made his debut in the competition on 19 August 2013, in a 3–0 loss at

Rayo Vallecano Rayo Vallecano de Madrid, S.A.D. (), often abbreviated to Rayo (Spanish for "thunderbolt"), is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid, in the neighbourhood of Vallecas. Rayo was founded on 29 May 1924, and currently compete in La Lig ...

. Gil scored his first goal in the top flight on 1 March 2014, the game's only goal in a home win over

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta de Vigo or simply Celta, is a Spanish professional football club based in Vigo, Galicia, that competes in La Liga, the top tier of Spanish football. Nicknamed ''Os Celestes'' (The Sky Blues), ...

. He subsequently returned to Valencia, making his league debut on 29 August in a 3–0 home defeat of

Málaga CF Málaga Club de Fútbol (, ''Málaga Football Club''), or simply Málaga, is a association football, football club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, that competes in the Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, ...

. Gil scored his first league goal for Valencia on 28 September 2014, contributing to a 1–1 away draw against

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D., more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad (; ''Royal Society''), La Real in Spanish, Erreala in Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 Septem ...

Aston Villa

Gil joined

side

on 13 January 2015 for a fee in the region of £3.2 million, signing a four-and-a-half year deal and receiving the number 25 jersey. He made his debut four days later, as a 59th-minute substitute for Ashley Westwood in a 0–2 home loss to

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

; despite the result, manager

Paul Lambert Paul Lambert (born 7 August 1969) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player, who was most recently the manager of Ipswich Town. Lambert played as a midfielder and won the Scottish Cup in 1987 with St Mirren as a 17-year-ol ...

described his performance as "as good a debut as I've seen". Gil made his first start on 25 January 2015 in an

FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football competi ...

tie against

Bournemouth Bournemouth () is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole council area of Dorset, England. At the 2011 census, the town had a population of 183,491, making it the largest town in Dorset. It is situated on the Southern ...

, scoring from the edge of the box to open a 2–1 victory. Thirteen days later he contributed his first

assist Assist or ASSIST may refer to: Sports Several sports have a statistic known as an "assist", generally relating to action by a player leading to a score by another player on their team: *Assist (basketball), a pass by a player that facilitates a ba ...

for the Villans, allowing

Jores Okore Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore (; born 11 August 1992), known as Jores Okore, is a Danish professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Changchun Yatai. Okore is considered a capable and aggressive defender, who is known for his ...

to score through a close-range header in a 1–2 home defeat to

Chelsea Chelsea or Chelsey may refer to: Places Australia * Chelsea, Victoria Canada * Chelsea, Nova Scotia * Chelsea, Quebec United Kingdom * Chelsea, London, an area of London, bounded to the south by the River Thames ** Chelsea (UK Parliament consti ...

. Gil netted for the first time in the league on 13 September 2015, putting his team 2–0 up in an eventual 3–2 loss at

Leicester City Leicester ( ) is a city, unitary authority and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest settlement in the East Midlands. The city lies on the River Soar and close to the eastern end of the National ...

. The following 2 January, away to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...

, he equalised with an aerial volley from compatriot Adama Traoré's cross, but in a 3–1 defeat against their relegation rivals.

Deportivo

On 20 July 2016, Gil returned to his homeland's top flight, being loaned to

Deportivo de La Coruña Real Club Deportivo de La Coruña (), commonly known as Deportivo La Coruña (), Deportivo or simply Dépor, is a professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia (Spain), Galicia, Spain. They currently p ...

with an option to buy. The following 12 July the move was extended for a further

season A season is a division of the year based on changes in weather, ecology, and the number of daylight hours in a given region. On Earth, seasons are the result of the axial parallelism of Earth's tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperate and pol ...

, with an obligatory

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in a contract that imposes an obligation on another organisation wishing to acquire the services of the employee under contract to pay the (usually substantial) fee of the clause to the organisati ...

included. His team was eventually relegated, and he played only six minutes after the appointment of new coach

Clarence Seedorf Clarence Clyde Seedorf (; born 1 April 1976) is a Dutch professional football manager and former player. He is regarded by many to be one of the best midfielders of his generation. Seedorf is considered one of the most successful players in UEF ...

New England Revolution

On 30 January 2019, Gil joined the

as a

Designated Player The Designated Player Rule, nicknamed the Beckham Rule, allows Major League Soccer franchises to sign up to three players that would be considered outside their salary cap (either by offering the player higher wages or by paying a transfer fee ...

on a multi-year contract, for a club record transfer fee of $2 million. He scored on his

debut on 2 March, the equaliser in a 1–1 draw at

FC Dallas FC Dallas is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The club competes as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). The franchise be ...

. Gil eventually became the Revs'

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

and finished his first season with ten goals and 14 assists, helping lead the side to their first playoff appearance since 2015. His play earned him several awards, including MLS Newcomer of the Year and Midnight Riders Man of the Year. In the 2020 campaign, Gil played only 152 minutes by late October because of injuries. He returned in time for the playoffs, scoring in wins over the Montreal Impact and

Orlando City SC Orlando City SC is an American professional soccer club in Orlando, Florida, that competes as a member of the Eastern Conference in Major League Soccer (MLS). Orlando City SC began play in 2015 as the 21st franchise in MLS, succeeding the USL ...

. Having also assisted three goals in post-season, his contract option for the following year was exercised. Gil agreed to a further extension on 24 May 2021, until 2024; the deal increased his salary from $2.7 million to put him in the top 10 of the league's earners. In that season, he helped the

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

side to the first Supporters' Shield in their 26-year history, with three games to spare. He finished as the assist leader with 18, winning the

MLS Comeback Player of the Year Award MLS Comeback Player of the Year is a Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a men's professional soccer league sanctioned by the United States Soccer Federation, which represents the sport's highest level in the United States. The ...

while the team set a new points record with 73. The playoff campaign ended in the Eastern Conference semi-finals with a

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pen ...

defeat to

New York City FC New York City Football Club is an American professional soccer club based in New York City that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS), the highest level of American soccer, as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. The club is co-owned ...

after a 2–2 home draw; he scored with the first attempt. On 7 December, he was named the league's Most Valuable Player. On 31 May 2023, Gil scored the second-fastest goal in Revolution history in the club's 3–3 draw against

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC, commonly known as Atlanta United, is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta that competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference. Founded in 2014, Atlanta United began pl ...

. He was added to the roster for that year's

MLS All-Star Game The Major League Soccer All-Star Game is an annual soccer game held by Major League Soccer featuring selected players from the league against an international club or selected players from Liga MX. MLS initially adopted a traditional all-star ga ...

by coach

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional football manager and former player, who is the manager of Major League Soccer club D.C. United in the United States. He spent much of his playing career as a forward while als ...

International career

On 30 August 2013,

Julen Lopetegui Julen Lopetegui Agote (; born 28 August 1966) is a Spanish former professional footballer, currently manager of Premier League club Wolverhampton Wanderers. A goalkeeper, he played 149 La Liga matches over nine seasons, representing Real Madrid ...

named Gil in the Spanish under-21 squad for 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifiers against

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; sq, Shqipëri or ), or , also or . officially the Republic of Albania ( sq, Republika e Shqipërisë), is a country in Southeastern Europe. It is located on the Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea and shares ...

. He made his debut against the latter on 9 September, coming on as a second-half substitute and providing an assist for

Jesé Jesé Rodríguez Ruiz (; born 26 February 1993), known as Jesé, is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Süper Lig club Ankaragücü. An academy graduate of La Liga side Real Madrid, Jesé debuted for the senior te ...

's final goal in a 4–0 win in

Logroño Logroño () is the capital of the province of La Rioja, situated in northern Spain. Traversed in its northern part by the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of passage, such as the Camino de Santiago. Its borders were disputed b ...

Personal life

Gil's younger brother,

Ignacio Ignacio is a male Spanish and Galician name originating either from the Roman family name Egnatius, meaning born from the fire, of Etruscan origin, or from the Latin name "Ignatius" from the word "Ignis" meaning "fire". This was the name of sev ...

, is also a footballer and an attacking midfielder. He also came through at Valencia, and the pair are teammates at New England. He missed his sibling's MLS debut in September 2022 due to the birth of his first child.

Career statistics

Honours

Elche *

: 2012–13 New England Revolution * Supporters' Shield:

2021 File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...

Individual * MLS Newcomer of the Year:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. Winners *Players in bold were awarded the Landon Donovan MVP Award for that season. Most appearances by a player The following players have appeared ...

* MLS Player of the Month: June 2021 * Midnight Riders Man of the Year: 2019, 2021 * MLS Comeback Player of the Year:

* Landon Donovan MVP Award:

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

2023 Events Predicted and scheduled events * January 1 ** In the United States, books, films, and other works published in 1927 will enter the public domain, assuming there are no changes made to copyright law. ** Croatia will adopt the eu ...

References

External links

*
Stats and bio at CiberChe
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gil, Carles 1992 births Living people Spanish men's footballers Footballers from Valencia Men's association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Tercera División players Valencia CF Mestalla footballers Valencia CF players Elche CF players Deportivo de La Coruña players Premier League players Aston Villa F.C. players Major League Soccer players New England Revolution players Designated Players (MLS) Spain men's under-21 international footballers Spanish expatriate men's footballers Expatriate men's footballers in England Expatriate men's soccer players in the United States Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in the United States