Whatever happened to former Manchester United full-back – Guillermo Varela?
Flashback to 2011 – a lot was very different at Manchester United. Legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson had just departed and David Moyes took the reigns at the helm of the club.
Moyes began the post-Fergie era at Manchester United with new signing who arrived before he even did, a young full-back by the name of Guillermo Varela.
It seems a lifetime ago now for fans of the Red Devils – which begs the question, just what has happened to him since?
Guillermo Varela facing hardship at Flamengo
Six years on from officially leaving Manchester United, Varela finds himself at the Brazilian side, Flamengo. Unfortunately, things aren’t going exactly to plan for him at the moment.
According to a report from Vamo Flamengo, it appears Varela’s future at the club is becoming uncertain. It states that Varela has fallen well out of favour for the Brazilian giants.
He arrived in the second half of 2022 and made his debut in September, in a match against Ceará. Since then he has only played 19 games, with no goals and no assists.
This now means he is the third-choice right-back. Not good. But how did Varela get to this point?
What happened to Guillermo Valera?
The full-back spent time on trial at Old Trafford in the final weeks of Sir Alex Ferguson’s time at United, before he was officially made permanent the next season – unveiled as David Moyes’ first-ever signing.
His first season was spent largely in the academy setups and subsequently went out on loan to Real Madrid’s B team, Castilla for some much-needed game time.
Varela played 33 times in Spain, but then was brought back down to earth on his return – getting just 314 Premier League minutes in the 15/16 season, making his debut under Louis van Gaal.
This led to another loan, this time to the Bundesliga with Eintracht Frankfurt. Varela started Eintracht’s first two Bundesliga matches of that 16/17 campaign but suffered torn ligaments which would see him sidelined until February.
Remarkably, he made a return before the end of the season and was set to feature in a cup final against Borussia Dortmund. However, Varela instead decided to get a tattoo on his arm, which led to infection and meant he couldn’t play!
The option to extend his loan was revoked after this. He returned to United but was shipped off before he’d even got settled back in.
Life after Manchester United
On the 12th of August 2017, Varela returned to Peñarol, the club Manchester United signed him from, on a permanent deal.
He spent two years back in Uruguay before Danish champions Copenhagen came knocking. He spent another season here, amassing 35 appearances in his first campaign which looked seriously promising.
However, he was loaned out next to Dynamo Moscow, who made the deal permanent a year later after a successful opening campaign.
But such as the tale of Valera’s career, he couldn’t settle. He went out on loan again after the first season to Flamengo who, you guessed it, purchased him after the loan spell!
It’s like Groundhog Day for the now 30-year-old… who a year down the line – looks like he may be sold very soon.
What’s next for Varela remains to be seen, but it’s safe to say the trajectory of his career after United hasn’t exactly gone the way he may have dreamed.
from United In Focus https://ift.tt/kcoetiM