Soccer-Australia's Western Utd sign former Espanyol skipper Sanchez

SYDNEY, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Former Espanyol captain Victor Sanchez has joined Australian club Western United on a two-year deal, the A-League side said on Friday.

The 33-year-old midfielder, who started his career at Barcelona, departed after eight years at Espanyol when the Catalan club were relegated from La Liga at the end of last season.

Sanchez joins Alessandro Diamanti at the Melbourne-based outfit, who the former Italy international captained to the championship playoff semi-finals in their inaugural season earlier this year.

"I am very happy to be joining an ambitious club like Western United and I want the fans to know I am committed and enthusiastic about the challenge ahead," Sanchez said in a news release.

The 2020-21 A-League kicks off on Dec. 27. (Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Peter Rutherford)