Guillermo Varela

Guillermo Varela Olivera (locally [ɡiˈʃeɾmo βaˈɾela oliˈβeɾa]; born 24 March 1993) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Copenhagen. He began his career with Peñarol, in his home town of Montevideo, before joining Manchester United in 2013. He spent time on loan to Spanish club Real Madrid's reserve team, Real Madrid Castilla, and at German club Eintracht Frankfurt, before rejoining Peñarol in 2017.

This article uses Spanish naming customs: the first or paternal family name is Varela and the second or maternal family name is Olivera.

Guillermo Varela

Personal information
Full name	Guillermo Varela Olivera[1]
Date of birth	(1993-03-24) 24 March 1993
Place of birth	Montevideo, Uruguay
Height	1.73 m (5 ft 8 in)[2]
Playing position(s)	Right-back
Club information
Current team	Copenhagen
Number	2
Youth career
	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)
2017–2018	Peñarol	23	(0)
2019–	Copenhagen	25	(0)
National team^‡
2012–2013	Uruguay U20	29	(0)
2017–	Uruguay	5	(0)
* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 7 June 2020 ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 20 June 2018

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 2013, Manchester United announced they had reached an agreement to sign Varela from Peñarol for an undisclosed fee, rumoured to be €2.8 million.[5] On 11 June 2013, he signed a five-year contract with United.[6] Hence, he became the first player to join Manchester United under new manager David Moyes.[7][8]

Loan to Real Madrid Castilla

In September 2014, Varela joined Real Madrid reserve side Real Madrid Castilla for season-long loan.[9] He was, however, included in the 2014–15 UEFA Champions League squad for the first-team and he was given the squad number 28.[10] 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.[11]

Return to Manchester United

After returning to Manchester United, Varela was included in Manchester United's squad for the group stage of the 2015–16 UEFA Champions League.[12] 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.[13] 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 19 April 2016, Varela scored an injury-time winner to win Manchester United Under-21s the 2015–16 U21 Premier League title.[14]

Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt

After the arrival of José Mourinho as Manchester United manager in 2016, Varela came on as a substitute in Mourinho's first match in charge of the team (a 2–0 win away to Wigan Athletic in a friendly).[15] However, he was not included in Mourinho's squad for the club's summer tour of China,[16] and on 23 July 2016, Varela joined German club Eintracht Frankfurt on a season-long loan deal.[17]

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.[18]

Return to Peñarol

On 12 August 2017, Varela returned to Peñarol on a permanent deal.[19] He made his second debut for the club on 20 August 2017, in 4–0 win against El Tanque Sisley.[20]

FC Copenhagen

On 20 December 2018, Varela joined Danish Superliga team FC Copenhagen on a deal until June 2023.[21]

International career

Varela played for the Uruguay under-20 team at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup,[22] where the team finished as runners-up to champions France.[23]

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.[24]

In June 2018, Varela was named in Uruguay's final 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia.[25]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 23 July 2019[26]

Club	Season	League			National Cup		League Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Peñarol	2010–11	Primera División	1	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		1	0
	2011–12		0	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		0	0
	2012–13		0	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		0	0
	Total		1	0	0	0	–		0	0	–		1	0
Manchester United	2013–14	Premier League	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
	2014–15		0	0	0	0	0	0	–		–		0	0
	2015–16		4	0	3	0	0	0	4	0	–		11	0
	2016–17		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	Segunda División B	33	1	–		–		–		–		33	1
Eintracht Frankfurt (loan)	2016–17	Bundesliga	7	0	3	0	–		–		–		10	0
Peñarol	2017	Primera División	11	0	–		–		0	0	–		11	0
	2018		12	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	1	0	19	0
	Total		23	0	0	0	0	0	6	0	1	0	30	0
Copenhagen	2018–19	Superliga	7	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	7	0
	2019–20		2	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	0
	Total		9	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	9	0
Career total			77	1	6	0	0	0	10	0	1	0	94	1

International

As of match played 20 June 2018[27]

Uruguay
Year	Apps	Goals
2017	1	0
2018	4	0
Total	5	0

Honours

Peñarol

• Uruguayan Primera División: 2017, 2018[28]
• Supercopa Uruguaya: 2018[29]

Copenhagen

• Danish Superliga: 2018–19[30]

References

1. "Barclays Premier League Squad Numbers 2013/14". premierleague.com. Premier League. 16 August 2013. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
2. "2018 FIFA World Cup: List of players" (PDF). FIFA. 18 June 2018. p. 32.
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". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 11 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
5. "Transfer news: Guillermo Varela says he will have a medical at Manchester United". Sky Sports. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
6. Coppack, Nick (11 June 2013). "Reds complete Varela deal". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
7. "David Moyes to make Guillermo Varela his first signing at Manchester United". Express.co.uk. Retrieved 6 June 2013.
8. "United agree Varela deal". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. 7 June 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
9. Marshall, Adam (3 September 2014). "Varela heads to Madrid". ManUtd.com. Manchester United FC. Retrieved 3 September 2014.
10. "UEFA Champions League – Real Madrid". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 6 September 2014.
11. Colino, Jesús (21 February 2015). "Odegaard regala su primera exhibición y el Castilla disfruta" (in Spanish). Diario AS. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
12. "UEFA Champions League – Manchester United". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. Retrieved 2 September 2015.
13. Dudko, James (5 December 2015). "Guillermo Varela Makes Manchester United Debut: Key Details on Right-Back". Bleacher Report. Retrieved 5 December 2015.
14. Marshall, Adam (19 April 2016). "Under-21s win league after 3–2 win at Spurs". ManUtd.com. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
15. Froggatt, Mark (16 July 2016). "Wigan Athletic 0 Manchester United 2". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
16. Thompson, Gemma (19 July 2016). "Mourinho announces squad for Tour 2016". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
17. Marshall, Adam (23 July 2016). "Loan move agreed for Guillermo Varela". ManUtd.com. Manchester United. Retrieved 23 July 2016.
18. Uersfeld, Stephan (24 May 2017). "Man United's Guillermo Varela gets tattoo; Eintracht Frankfurt end interest". ESPN FC. Retrieved 24 May 2017.
19. "Guillermo Varela: Man Utd defender rejoins Peñarol". BBC Sport. 12 August 2017. Retrieved 12 August 2017.
20. "El Tanque Sisley vs. Peñarol 0–4". Soccerway. 20 August 2017. Retrieved 29 August 2017.
21. "FC Copenhagen signs Varela". fck.dk. FC Copenhagen. Retrieved 21 December 2018.
22. "Scouting Manchester United's Guillermo Varela at the FIFA U-20 World Cup". Bleacher Report. 29 June 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
23. "France capture U-20 World Cup title". UEFA. 13 July 2013. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
24. "Manchester United defender Guillermo Varela included in Uruguay squad". Manchester Evening News. 5 March 2016. Retrieved 20 June 2017.
25. "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.
26. G. Varela; Global Sports Media
27. Guillermo Varela at National-Football-Teams.com
28. "FC COPENHAGEN SIGN GUILLERMO VARELA". FC Copenhagen. 20 December 2018. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
29. "Peñarol venció 3-1 a Nacional y se quedó con la primera edición de la Supercopa". Ovación. 25 July 2019.
30. "FC Copenhagen are Danish champions". The Copenhagen Post. 6 May 2019. Retrieved 7 May 2019.

External links

• Guillermo Varela at Soccerbase