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 lea ...

who plays as an

attacking midfielder In the sport of association football, a midfielder takes an outfield position primarily in the middle of the pitch. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. ...

for

Major League Soccer Major League Soccer (MLS) is a professional Association football, soccer league in North America and the highest level of the United States soccer league system. It comprises 30 teams, with 27 in the United States and 3 in Canada, and is sanc ...

club

New England Revolution The New England Revolution are an American professional association football, soccer club based in the Greater Boston area. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern Conference. It is on ...

, whom he

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He began his career at

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, 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 (, ; , , , ; officially: ''/'' ) is a city and Municipalities of Spain, municipality of Spain, belonging to the province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community. According to 2024's data, Elche has a population of 234,800 inhabitants,

, winning promotion to

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known as the Primera División or La Liga, and officially known as LaLiga EA Sports for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Spain and the highest ...

2013 2013 was the first year since 1987 to contain four unique digits (a span of 26 years). 2013 was designated as: *International Year of Water Cooperation *International Year of Quinoa Events January * January 5 – 2013 Craig, Alask ...

. After a spell in the

Premier League The Premier League is a professional association football league in England and the highest level of the English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Football Lea ...

with

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

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 an aerial lift line in Ecatepec de ...

, he signed for the

Club career

Valencia

Born in

Valencian Community The Valencian Community is an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. It is the fourth most populous Spanish Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community after Andalusia, Catalonia and the Community of Madrid wit ...

, Gil was a product of

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol, S. A. D. (; ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF or simply Valencia, is a Spanish professional Association football, football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top tier of the Spani ...

'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 the

Segunda División B Segunda División B (English: 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 ...

, 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 based in 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 hist ...

(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. () is a Spanish professional football club based in Elche, Province of Alicante, in the Valencian Community, Spain. Founded in 1923, the club will compete in La Liga for the 2025–26 season, holding home matches at ...

for the 2012–13 campaign. He first played in the

Segunda División The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Segunda División, commonly known as Segunda División or La Liga 2, and officially known as LaLiga HyperMotion for sponsorship reasons, is the men's second professional association football division of the Spa ...

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 Primera Federación - Group 1, holding home ma ...

and netting in an eventual 4–2 win. He scored in the following match, a 2–1 victory at

Hércules CF Hércules de Alicante Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. () is a List of football clubs in Spain, Spanish football team in Alicante, in the Valencian Community. Founded on 25 October 1922, it currently plays in Primera Federación and plays its home games ...

. After being a very important attacking unit as the club returned to

after nearly 25 years, Gil remained with Elche for 2013–14, still owned by Valencia. 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 the Villa de Vallecas district of Madrid. The club competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish foot ...

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

RC Celta de Vigo Real Club Celta de Vigo (; ), commonly known as Celta Vigo, 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), the club was fou ...

. He subsequently returned to the

Mestalla Stadium Mestalla Stadium ( , ) is a football stadium in Valencia, Spain. The stadium is the home of Valencia and has a capacity of 49,430 seats, making it the 8th-largest stadium in Spain, and the largest in the Valencian Community. The stadium's name o ...

, 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 club based in Málaga, Andalusia, Spain, who compete in Segunda División, the second tier of the Spanish football league system, Spanish league system, following the ...

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

Real Sociedad Real Sociedad de Fútbol, more commonly referred to as Real Sociedad ( ; ''Royal Society'') in English, and Erreala or Reala in Basque language, Basque, is a Spanish professional sports club in the city of San Sebastián, Donostia / San Sebastián, ...

in the domestic league.

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 port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

; 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-o ...

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 Single-elimination tournament, knockout association football, football competition in domestic Football in England, English football. First played during ...

tie against

Bournemouth Bournemouth ( ) is a coastal resort town in the Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole unitary authority area, in the ceremonial county of Dorset, England. At the 2021 census, the built-up area had a population of 196,455, making it the largest ...

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

Jores Okore Tetchi Jores Charlemagne Ulrich Okore (; ; born 11 August 1992), simply known as Jores Okore, is a professional association football, footballer who plays as a centre-back. Born in Ivory Coast, he has represented the Denmark national football te ...

to score through a close-range header in a 1–2 home defeat to Chelsea. 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 status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

. The following 2 January, away to

Sunderland Sunderland () is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. It is a port at the mouth of the River Wear on the North Sea, approximately south-east of Newcastle upon Tyne. It is the most p ...

, 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 () or simply Depor, is a Spanish professional association football, football club based in the city of A Coruña, Galicia, that competes in the Segunda División, the ...

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 axial tilt, tilted orbit around the Sun. In temperat ...

, with an obligatory

buyout clause A buyout clause or release clause refers to a clause in an employment contract. It allows the employee to terminate the contract unilaterally upon payment of a specified (usually substantial) fee to the employer. The fee may be paid by the employ ...

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 former professional Association football, football manager and player. He is regarded by many as one of the greatest midfielders of all time. He is currently working primarily remotely as ...

New England Revolution

On 30 January 2019, Gil joined the

as a Designated Player 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 in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. 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 or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

and finished his first season with ten goals and 14 assists, leading the side in scoring as they made their first playoff appearance since 2015. His play earned him several awards, including: MLS Newcomer of the Year, Midnight Riders Man of the Year, Revolution Team Most Valuable Player, Revolution Players' Player of the year and 2019

MLS Best XI The MLS Best XI is an annual acknowledgment of the best eleven players in Major League Soccer. The selection is determined by a collection of media, players, and MLS club technical staffs. Winners Appearances by player The following players ...

. 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 Soccer Club is an American professional soccer club based in Orlando, Florida. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Owned by Zygi, Leonard, and Mark Wilf, it is the sister club of ...

. 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 ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

side to the first

Supporters' Shield The Supporters' Shield is an annual award given to the Major League Soccer team with the best regular season record, as determined by the MLS points system. The Supporters' Shield has been annually awarded at the MLS Supporters' Summit since 199 ...

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 award established in 2000. The award is voted on by media, MLS players and club management. It is presented to a player who showed impressive improvement after overcoming a serious injury ...

while the team set a new points record with 73. He was named MLS Best XI and Revolution Team Most Valuable Player for a second time, MLS Player of the Month for June and MLS Player of the Week for matchweek 9. 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 pe ...

defeat to

New York City FC New York City Football Club (often referred to as NYCFC) is an American professional Association football, soccer club based in New York City. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference (MLS), Eastern C ...

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 3–3 draw against

Atlanta United FC Atlanta United FC is an American professional soccer club based in Atlanta. The club competes in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Eastern Conference. Domestically, the club has won one MLS Cup, one U.S. Open Cup, and one Eastern ...

. 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 another league. MLS initially adopted a traditional all ...

by coach

Wayne Rooney Wayne Mark Rooney (born 24 October 1985) is an English professional Manager (association football), football manager and former Association football, player who was most recently the head coach of EFL Championship club Plymouth Argyle F.C., Pl ...

. He won the Revolution Golden Boot for the second time, scoring 11 goals and recording 15 assists, also being named Players' Player of the Year for a third time and MLS Player of the Week for matchweek 16. In March 2024, Gil agreed to an extension through 2026, with a one-year option. He was included in the MLS Team for weeks 31 and 33. In October, he was named his team's most valuable player for a club-record fourth time. On 19 April 2025, in a 2–0 home victory over

, Gil set the all-time assists record for the Revolution with 74, surpassing

Steve Ralston Steve Ralston (born June 14, 1974) is an American former soccer player and manager who played as a midfielder. He spent most of his playing career in Major League Soccer with the Tampa Bay Mutiny and the New England Revolution, retiring in 20 ...

's tally.

International career

On 30 August 2013,

Julen Lopetegui Julen Lopetegui Argote (; born 28 August 1966) is a Spanish professional football manager and former footballer. He is the current manager of the Qatar national team. A goalkeeper, he played 149 La Liga matches over nine seasons, representing ...

named Gil in the Spanish under-21 squad for

2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship The 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship was the 20th edition of the UEFA European Under-21 Championship, a biennial international association football, football competition for men's under-21 national teams organised by UEFA. The final tourn ...

qualifiers against

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

. 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) is a Spanish professional Association football, footballer who plays as Winger (football), winger or Forward (association football), forward. An academy graduate of La Liga side Real Madrid CF, ...

's final goal in a 4–0 win in

Logroño Logroño ( , , ) is the capital of the autonomous community of La Rioja (Spain), La Rioja, Spain. Located in the north of the Iberian Peninsula, primarily in the right (South) bank of the Ebro River, Logroño has historically been a place of pa ...

Personal life

Gil's younger brother,

Ignacio Ignacio is a male Spanish language, Spanish name originating in the Latin name "Ignatius" from ''ignis'' "fire". This was the name of several saints, including the Ignatius of Antioch, third bishop of Antioch (who was thrown to wild beasts by emp ...

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

Career statistics

Honours

Elche *

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number, numeral, and glyph. It is the first and smallest positive integer of the infinite sequence of natural numbers. This fundamental property has led to its unique uses in other fields, ranging from science to sp ...

New England Revolution *

2021 Like the year 2020, 2021 was also heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, due to the emergence of multiple Variants of SARS-CoV-2, COVID-19 variants. The major global rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, which began at the end of 2020, continued ...

Individual * MLS Newcomer of the Year:

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

* 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 The Landon Donovan MVP Award is an annual award for Major League Soccer players. It is voted on by media, MLS players, and club management and is given to the player deemed the most valuable player in the league each season. From 1996 to 2007, ...

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

2023 Catastrophic natural disasters in 2023 included the Lists of 21st-century earthquakes, 5th-deadliest earthquake of the 21st century 2023 Turkey–Syria earthquakes, striking Turkey and Syria, leaving up to 62,000 people dead; Cyclone Freddy ...

top assist provider:

References

External links

*
Stats and bio at CiberChe
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gil, Carles 1992 births Living people 21st-century Spanish sportsmen 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