Former West Ham and Aston Villa players have been named in SofaScore‘s ‘Rest of the World’ Team of the Year for 2021.
The players with the highest average performance ratings outside the traditional top five leagues were included and both Alessandro Diamanti and Carles Gil made the cut.
Diamanti made 30 appearances for West Ham during the 2009/10 season, and was Hammer of the Year runner up.
He’s represented ten clubs since being bought by Brescia in August 2010 and but has been with current side Western United for two and a half years.
The 38-year-old has been outstanding in Oz and won the Johnny Warren Medal for the best player in the A-League at the end of last season.
‘Alino’ has been playing in an attacking midfield role and captaining United during the early stages of their 2021/22 campaign.
The left-footed creator’s average SofaScore performance rating for 2021 was 7.62.
Ex-Aston Villa attacking midfielder Gil has also made the XI and his average performance rating of 8.02 is the highest of any player outside the top five leagues.
Gil was technically a Villa player between 2015 and 2018 but he only made 34 appearances, spending an extended period on loan at Deportivo La Coruna before eventually joining them on a permanent deal.
He’s now in the United States with New England Revolution and enjoying the best form of his career.
The 29-year-old captained the Revs to the Supporters Shield and won the MLS MVP award, scoring four goals and notching 18 assists across a remarkable campaign both from a collective and an individual perspective.
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