Guillermo Varela

Uruguayan footballer (born 1993)

Guillermo Varela
Varela with Dynamo Moscow in 2022
Personal information
Full name Guillermo Varela Olivera[1]
Date of birth (1993-03-24) 24 March 1993 (age 31)[2]
Place of birth Montevideo, Uruguay
Height 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Flamengo
Number 2
Youth career
0000–2011 Peñarol
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2011–2013 Peñarol 1 (0)
2013–2017 Manchester United 4 (0)
2014–2015 → Real Madrid Castilla (loan) 33 (1)
2016–2017 → Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 7 (0)
2017–2019 Peñarol 23 (0)
2019–2021 Copenhagen 35 (0)
2020–2021 → Dynamo Moscow (loan) 17 (0)
2021–2023 Dynamo Moscow 25 (0)
2022–2023 → Flamengo (loan) 13 (0)
2023– Flamengo 10 (1)
International career‡
2012–2013 Uruguay U20 29 (0)
2017– Uruguay 15 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:16, 23 February 2024 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 23 March 2024 (UTC)

Guillermo Varela Olivera ([ɡiˈʝeɾmo βaˈɾela oliˈβeɾa]; born 24 March 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Flamengo and the Uruguay national team.

Varela began his career with Peñarol, in his home town of Montevideo, before joining Manchester United in 2013. He made 11 first-team appearances for United and spent time on loan at Real Madrid's reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, and at Eintracht Frankfurt, before rejoining Peñarol in 2017. Varela won two Uruguayan Primera División titles with Peñarol, before returning to Europe in January 2019 when he signed for Danish club Copenhagen. He made 53 appearances for Copenhagen and helped them win the 2018–19 Danish Superliga. In October 2020, he joined Russian club Dynamo Moscow on a loan deal, which was made permanent in July 2021. He returned to South American football in July 2022, when he joined Flamengo on loan. In July 2023, Varela joined Flamengo on a permanent deal.

Varela was a member of Uruguay's under-20 team that was runners-up in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He made his senior international debut in November 2017 and has played at two FIFA World Cups, in 2018 and 2022.

Club career

Peñarol

Born in Montevideo, Varela started his career with his hometown club Peñarol and made his senior debut on 5 June 2011, in a 1–0 home defeat against Racing Club de Montevideo, on the last matchday of Uruguayan Primera División.[3]

Manchester United

In May 2013, Varela went on a two-week trial with Manchester United after an impressive performance at the 2013 South American Youth Championship.[4] On 7 June, Varela announced he was having a medical,[5] and on 11 June, United completed his signing on afive-year contract, becoming the first signing of new manager David Moyes.[6]

Loan to Real Madrid Castilla

In September 2014, Varela joined Real Madrid reserve side Real Madrid Castilla for a season-long loan.[7] He was, however, included in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League squad for the first-team and he was given the squad number 28.[8] He made 33 appearances and scored once, when he was set up by Martin Ødegaard in a 4–0 win over Barakaldo on 21 February 2015, at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stéfano in the season's Segunda División B.[9]

Return to United and loan to Eintracht Frankfurt

After returning to United, Varela was included in their squad for the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.[10] He made his debut on 5 December 2015, as a half-time substitute for Paddy McNair in a goalless Premier League draw against West Ham United at Old Trafford.[11] Three days later, Varela made his first start and Champions League debut in the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League, playing the full 90 minutes in a 3–2 defeat to Wolfsburg. On 25 February 2016, in a Europa League Round of 32 return leg against FC Midtjylland, he assisted on the second of the two goals Marcus Rashford scored on his senior debut. On 19 April, Varela scored an injury-time winner to win Manchester United Under-21s the 2015–16 U21 Premier League title.[12]

Upon the arrival of José Mourinho as United manager in 2016, Varela came on as a substitute in Mourinho's first match in charge of the team, a 2–0 friendly win away to Wigan Athletic.[13] However, he was not included in Mourinho's squad for the club's summer tour of China,[14] and on 23 July, Varela joined German club Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan deal.[15]

Frankfurt coach Niko Kovač revealed at the end of the season that Varela was expected to play in the 2017 DFB-Pokal Final and be given an extension, but these plans were abandoned after Varela defied the instructions of the club's training staff and got a tattoo, which later became inflamed. Because of this, and other disciplinary issues, Varela was suspended by the club, who said that they would not be attempting to extend his loan deal.[16]

Return to Peñarol

On 12 August 2017, Varela returned to Peñarol on a permanent deal.[17] He made his second debut for the club on 20 August 2017, in 4–0 win against El Tanque Sisley.[18]

FC Copenhagen

On 20 December 2018, Danish Superliga team FC Copenhagen announced that Varela would join them in January 2019, on a deal until June 2023.[19]

Dynamo Moscow

On 17 October 2020, he joined Russian Premier League club FC Dynamo Moscow on loan for the 2020–21 season.[20]

On 17 July 2021, he moved to Dynamo Moscow on a permanent basis and signed a two-year contract with the club.[21] He was voted player of the month by Dynamo fans for October 2021.[22]

Flamengo

On 30 July 2022, Flamengo signed Varela on loan from Dynamo Moscow until 31 May 2023.[23]

On 12 January 2023, Flamengo announced that Varela had signed a pre-contract for a permanent deal starting at the end of his contract with Dynamo Moscow on 1 July 2023.[24][25]

International career

Varela made 29 appearances for the Uruguay under-20 team.[26] He played for Uruguay at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[27] where the team finished as runners-up to champions France.[28]

On 5 March 2016, following his emergence into the Manchester United first-team, Varela received his first call-up to the Uruguay senior squad, for the World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Peru later that same month.[29]

In June 2018, Varela was named in Uruguay's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[30]

Varela was named in Uruguay's squad for the 2022 FIFA World Cup.[31] He came on as a substitute in the 88th minute in Uruguay's first game of the tournament – against South Korea, replacing Facundo Pellistri.[32]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 20 February 2024
Club Season League State league National cup League cup Continental Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Peñarol 2010–11[33] Uruguayan Primera División 1 0 — — — 0 0 — 1 0
2011–12[33] 0 0 — — — 0 0 — 0 0
2012–13[33] 0 0 — — — 0 0 — 0 0
Total 1 0 — — — 0 0 — 1 0
Manchester United 2013–14[33] Premier League 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2014–15[33] 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 — — 0 0
2015–16[33] 4 0 — 3 0 0 0 4[a] 0 — 11 0
2016–17[33] 0 0 — 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Total 4 0 — 3 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 11 0
Real Madrid Castilla (loan) 2014–15[33] Segunda División B 33 1 — — — — — 33 1
Eintracht Frankfurt (loan) 2016–17[33] Bundesliga 7 0 — 3 0 — — — 10 0
Peñarol 2017[33] Uruguayan Primera División 11 0 — — — — — 11 0
2018[33] 12 0 — — — 6[b] 0 1[c] 0 19 0
Total 23 0 — — — 6 0 1 0 30 0
Copenhagen 2018–19[33] Danish Superliga 7 0 — 0 0 — 0 0 — 7 0
2019–20[33] 27 0 — 1 0 — 15[d] 0 — 43 0
2020–21[33] 1 0 — 0 0 — 2[e] 0 — 3 0
Total 35 0 — 1 0 — 17 0 — 53 0
Dynamo Moscow (loan) 2020–21[33] Russian Premier League 17 0 — 2 0 — — — 19 0
Dynamo Moscow 2021–22[33] 24 0 — 5 0 — — — 29 0
2022–23[33] 1 0 — 0 0 — — — 1 0
Total 42 0 — 7 0 — — — 49 0
Flamengo (loan) 2022[34] Série A 5 0 — 0 0 — 1[b] 0 — 6 0
2023[34] 1 0 7[f] 0 1 0 — 2[b] 0 4[g] 0 15 0
Flamengo 2023[34] 4 0 — 2 0 — 0 0 — 6 0
2024[34] 0 0 6 1 0 0 0 0 0 0 — 6 1
Total 10 0 13 1 3 0 — 3 0 4 0 33 1
Career total 155 1 13 1 17 0 0 0 30 0 5 0 220 2
  1. ^ One appearance in UEFA Champions League, three in UEFA Europa League
  2. ^ a b c Appearance(s) in Copa Libertadores
  3. ^ Appearance in Supercopa Uruguaya
  4. ^ Three appearances in UEFA Champions League, twelve in UEFA Europa League
  5. ^ Appearances in UEFA Europa League
  6. ^ Appearances in Campeonato Carioca
  7. ^ One appearance in Supercopa do Brasil, one in FIFA Club World Cup, two in Recopa Sudamericana

International

As of match played 23 March 2024[35]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National team Year Apps Goals
Uruguay 2017 1 0
2018 4 0
2019 0 0
2020 0 0
2021 0 0
2022 7 0
2023 2 0
2024 1[a] 0
Total 15 0
  1. ^ Includes a Non-FIFA friendly played against Basque Country, which is counted as an official match by Uruguayan Football Association.

Honours

Club

Peñarol

Copenhagen

Flamengo

Individual

References

  1. ^ "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". premierleague.com. Premier League. 16 August 2013. Archived from the original on 21 September 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players: Urugway" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2018. p. 32. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 June 2018.
  3. ^ "No nos vamos nada" [We are not going anywhere] (in Spanish). Futbol.uy. 5 June 2011. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  4. ^ "The lowdown on Varela". Manchester United F.C. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  5. ^ Freitas, Paulo (7 June 2013). "Transfer news: Guillermo Varela says he will have a medical at Manchester United". Sky Sports. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  6. ^ "Guillermo Varela: Manchester United sign Uruguayan defender". BBC Sport. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 1 December 2022.
  7. ^ Marshall, Adam (3 September 2014). "Varela heads to Madrid". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
  8. ^ "UEFA Champions League – Real Madrid". UEFA. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
  9. ^ Colino, Jesús (21 February 2015). "Odegaard regala su primera exhibición y el Castilla disfruta" (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  10. ^ "UEFA Champions League – Manchester United". UEFA. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
  11. ^ Dudko, James (5 December 2015). "Guillermo Varela Makes Manchester United Debut: Key Details on Right-Back". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
  12. ^ Marshall, Adam (19 April 2016). "Under-21s win league after 3–2 win at Spurs". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  13. ^ Froggatt, Mark (16 July 2016). "Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 2". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  14. ^ Thompson, Gemma (19 July 2016). "Mourinho announces squad for Tour 2016". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  15. ^ Marshall, Adam (23 July 2016). "Loan move agreed for Guillermo Varela". Manchester United F.C. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
  16. ^ Uersfeld, Stephan (24 May 2017). "Man United's Guillermo Varela gets tattoo; Eintracht Frankfurt end interest". ESPN FC. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
  17. ^ "Guillermo Varela: Man Utd defender rejoins Peñarol". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
  18. ^ "El Tanque Sisley vs. Peñarol 0–4". Soccerway. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
  19. ^ "FC Copenhagen signs Varela". fck.dk. FC Copenhagen. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
  20. ^ ""Динамо" арендовало Гильермо Варелу" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 17 October 2020.
  21. ^ ""Динамо" выкупило права на Гильермо Варелу" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 17 July 2021.
  22. ^ "ильермо Варела — ВТБ Игрок месяца в октябре" (in Russian). FC Dynamo Moscow. 3 November 2021.
  23. ^ "Flamengo anuncia contratação de lateral uruguaio Guillermo Varela" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 30 July 2022. Retrieved 30 July 2022.
  24. ^ "Flamengo e Guillermo Varela assinaram pré-contrato de trabalho. O lateral uruguaio segue no Mais Querido até 31 de dezembro de 2025" (in Brazilian Portuguese). Flamengo Instagram. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  25. ^ "Flamengo assina pré-contrato com Varela; lateral fica no clube até 2025" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 12 January 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2023.
  26. ^ "4 - GUILLERMO VARELA" (in Spanish). Uruguayan Football Association. 1 June 2018. Retrieved 29 November 2022.
  27. ^ "Scouting Manchester United's Guillermo Varela at the FIFA U-20 World Cup". Bleacher Report. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  28. ^ "France capture U-20 World Cup title". UEFA. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  29. ^ "Manchester United defender Guillermo Varela included in Uruguay squad". Manchester Evening News. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
  30. ^ "Plantel de Uruguay para Rusia 2018" [Squad of Uruguay for Russia 2018] (in Spanish). Uruguayan Football Association. 2 June 2018. Archived from the original on 12 June 2018. Retrieved 26 June 2018.
  31. ^ "Se confirmó la lista de convocados para la Copa Mundial de Catar 2022" [2022 Qatar World Cup squad confirmed] (in Spanish). Uruguayan Football Association. 10 November 2022. Retrieved 10 November 2022.
  32. ^ Sanders, Emma (24 November 2022). "World Cup 2022: Uruguay 0-0 South Korea - nothing to separate teams in exciting goalless draw". BBC Sport. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q "Guillermo Varela". worldfootball.net. Retrieved 17 January 2023.
  34. ^ a b c d "G. Varela". soccerway.com. Retrieved 23 February 2024.
  35. ^ "Guillermo Varela". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 26 June 2023.
  36. ^ "FC COPENHAGEN SIGN GUILLERMO VARELA". FC Copenhagen. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
  37. ^ "Peñarol venció 3-1 a Nacional y se quedó con la primera edición de la Supercopa". Ovación. 25 July 2019.
  38. ^ "FC Copenhagen are Danish champions". The Copenhagen Post. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.
  39. ^ "Flamengo domina seleção do Campeonato Carioca: veja a escalação, o craque e a revelação" (in Brazilian Portuguese). ge.globo. 9 April 2024. Retrieved 9 April 2024.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Guillermo Varela.
  • Profile at the Uruguayan Football Association website (in Spanish)
  • Guillermo Varela – UEFA competition record (archive) Edit this at Wikidata
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Flamengo – current squad
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Uruguay squad – 2018 FIFA World Cup
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Uruguay squad – 2022 FIFA World Cup
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