Guillermo Varela facts for kids
Varela playing for Dynamo Moscow in 2022
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Guillermo Varela Olivera | |||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 24 March 1993 | |||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Montevideo, Uruguay | |||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.73 m (5 ft 8 in) | |||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Right-back | |||||||||||||||
| Team information | ||||||||||||||||
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Current team
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Flamengo | |||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||
| –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) | 21 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2023– | Flamengo | 52 | (2) | |||||||||||||
| International career‡ | ||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Uruguay U20 | 29 | (0) | |||||||||||||
| 2017– | Uruguay | 24 | (0) | |||||||||||||
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Medal record
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| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:16, 23 December 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 01:30, 11 June 2025 (UTC) |
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Guillermo Varela Olivera, born on March 24, 1993, is a professional football player from Uruguay. He plays as a right-back for the Brazilian club Flamengo and also for the Uruguay national team.
Varela started his career with Peñarol in his hometown of Montevideo. In 2013, he joined Manchester United. He played 11 games for United and also spent time playing for other teams on loan, like Real Madrid Castilla (Real Madrid's reserve team) and Eintracht Frankfurt.
After that, he returned to Peñarol in 2017 and helped them win two Uruguayan league titles. In 2019, he moved to the Danish club Copenhagen and helped them win the Danish Superliga. Later, he joined the Russian club Dynamo Moscow in 2020, first on loan, then permanently.
In 2022, Varela moved back to South America, joining Flamengo in Brazil. He first played for them on loan and then signed a permanent deal in 2023.
Guillermo Varela also played for Uruguay's under-20 team, which finished second in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup. He started playing for the senior Uruguay national team in 2017 and has played in two FIFA World Cup tournaments, in 2018 and 2022.
Contents
Guillermo Varela's Club Journey
Starting at Peñarol
Guillermo Varela was born in Montevideo, Uruguay. He began his football career with his local club, Peñarol. He played his first senior game for Peñarol on June 5, 2011.
Time at Manchester United
In May 2013, Varela had a two-week trial with Manchester United after showing great skill in a youth tournament. On June 11, Manchester United officially signed him on a five-year contract. He was the very first player signed by their new manager, David Moyes.
Playing for Real Madrid Castilla
In September 2014, Varela went on loan to Real Madrid Castilla, which is the reserve team for Real Madrid. He played 33 games for them and scored one goal. This goal came in a 4–0 win against Barakaldo in February 2015.
Back to United and Loan to Eintracht Frankfurt
After his loan, Varela returned to Manchester United. He made his first team debut for United on December 5, 2015, in a game against West Ham United. A few days later, he played his first game in the UEFA Champions League against Wolfsburg. In February 2016, he helped set up a goal for Marcus Rashford in a UEFA Europa League match.
In 2016, Varela went on a season-long loan to the German club Eintracht Frankfurt. However, his time there ended early due to some disciplinary issues. The club decided not to extend his loan.
Returning to Peñarol
On August 12, 2017, Varela made a permanent move back to his first club, Peñarol. He played his second debut game for them on August 20, 2017, in a 4–0 victory.
Moving to FC Copenhagen
On December 20, 2018, the Danish team Copenhagen announced that Varela would join them in January 2019. He signed a contract that would last until June 2023.
Playing for Dynamo Moscow
On October 17, 2020, Guillermo Varela joined the Russian club Dynamo Moscow on a loan deal for the 2020–21 season. He later signed a permanent two-year contract with the club on July 17, 2021. Dynamo Moscow fans even voted him as their player of the month in October 2021.
Joining Flamengo
On July 30, 2022, the Brazilian club Flamengo signed Varela on loan from Dynamo Moscow. This loan lasted until May 31, 2023.
Then, on January 12, 2023, Flamengo announced that Varela had signed a pre-contract to join them permanently. This permanent deal started on July 1, 2023, after his contract with Dynamo Moscow ended.
Guillermo Varela's International Career
Varela played 29 games for the Uruguay under-20 team. He was part of the team that finished as runners-up in the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup, where they lost to France in the final.
In March 2016, Varela was called up to the Uruguay senior squad for the first time. This was for World Cup qualifying matches.
In June 2018, Varela was chosen to be part of Uruguay's 23-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. He also played for Uruguay in the 2022 FIFA World Cup. In Uruguay's first game of that tournament, against South Korea, he came on as a substitute.
Achievements and Awards
Peñarol
- Uruguayan Primera División: 2017, 2018
- Supercopa Uruguaya: 2018
Manchester United
- FA Cup: 2015–16
Copenhagen
- Danish Superliga: 2018–19
Flamengo
- Copa Libertadores: 2022
- Copa do Brasil: 2024
- Supercopa do Brasil: 2025
- Campeonato Carioca: 2024, 2025
Uruguay
- Copa América third place: 2024
Individual
- Campeonato Carioca Team of the Season: 2024
See also
In Spanish: Guillermo Varela para niños
