Valencia captain Jose Luis Gaya has revealed his favourite African footballer exclusively to Pulse Sports.
The Spanish international who spoke to Pulse Sports in an official La Liga press conference named Algerian winger Sofiane Feghouli as his favourite African player.
The choice comes as a surprise because Feghouli would not be most people’s answer to that question but also understandable as the pair played together.
Jose Luis Gaya crowns Sofiane Feghouli as top African player
In response to the question of the best African player he ever played with, Gaya said to Pulse Sports, “You make me think a little bit about this one…I think Sofiane Feghouli from Algeria.”
“I played with him here at Valencia for a few years, he is very skilful and technical and difficult to come up against in training,” Gaya continued in praise of his former teammate.
It is not exactly surprising that Feghouli is the best African player Gaya has ever played with as there wasn’t a lot of options to choose from since he joined Valencia.
But the Spanish left-back doubled down and named Feghouli also as the best African player from his own perspective which was a surprising call.
“Also Feghouli comes to mind, as I mentioned before he was a very good player, the best I have seen,” Gaya said, placing his ex-teammate ahead of top African stars like Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang etc.
Jose Luis Gaya and Sofiane Feghouli’s history
27-year-old Gaya has been at Valencia his entire career having come through the ranks at the club since making his first team debut in October 2012.
Feghouli on the other hand joined Valencia in 2010 and played at the club for six years after which he left to join West Ham.
Feghouli played 202 games for Valencia in six years, scoring 31 goals and assisting 40 while carving a reputation of being a dangerous winger for himself.
He played primarily in the right wing and right midfield positions where he dazzled for Valencia and the Algerian national team, leaving a long-lasting impression on Gaya.