| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alan Gonzalo Varela [1] | ||
| Date of birth | 4 July 2001 [1] | ||
| Place of birth | Isidro Casanova, Argentina | ||
| Height | 1.77 m (5 ft 10 in) [1] | ||
| Position(s) | Defensive midfielder, central midfielder [2] [3] | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | Porto | ||
| Number | 22 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| Barcelona Luján | |||
| 2012–2020 | Boca Juniors | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2020–2023 | Boca Juniors | 111 | (2) |
| 2023– | Porto | 67 | (2) |
| International career‡ | |||
| 2019 | Argentina U20 | 3 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 19 September 2025 ‡ National team caps and goals as of 27 August 2023 | |||
Alan Gonzalo Varela (born 4 July 2001) is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive or central midfielder for Primeira Liga club Porto. [4]
Varela joined Boca Juniors in 2012 from Barcelona Luján; a subsidiary of Barcelona, who later became known as Barcelona Juniors following a partnership with Boca. [3] After training with Boca's senior side during 2019, a year that also saw him sign his first professional contract, Varela made the breakthrough into Miguel Ángel Russo's first-team in 2020. [5] [6] [7] He was an unused substitute seven times in all competitions between September and December, including for the first time on 17 September for a Copa Libertadores win over Libertad. [4] Varela's senior debut came on 20 December in a Copa de la Liga Profesional game with Independiente. [4] [8] [9] [10]
On 16 August 2023, Primeira Liga club Porto announced the signing of Varela on a five-year contract, [11] for a reported fee of €8 million + €3 million in performance-related add-ons. [12] He made his debut on 3 September, coming off the bench to replace Stephen Eustáquio at half-time in a 1–1 league draw at home against Arouca. [13] Twelve days later, Varela made his first start for the Dragons, away at Estrela da Amadora, where he made a last-minute goal-line clearance to guarantee a 1–0 Porto win. [14] On 20 January 2024, he scored his first goal for Porto, in a 5–0 league victory at home to Moreirense. [15]
In 2019, Varela was selected by Argentina U20 manager Esteban Solari for the COTIF Tournament in Spain. [5] [16]
| Club | Season | League | National cup [a] | League cup [b] | Continental | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Boca Juniors | 2020 | Argentine Primera División | 4 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 7 | 0 | |||
| 2021 | Argentine Primera División | 20 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 7 [c] | 0 | — | 27 | 0 | |||
| 2022 | Argentine Primera División | 30 | 0 | 4 | 0 | — | 7 [c] | 1 | 2 [d] | 0 | 43 | 1 | ||
| 2023 | Argentine Primera División | 24 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | 8 [c] | 1 | 1 [e] | 0 | 34 | 1 | ||
| Total | 78 | 0 | 8 | 0 | — | 22 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 111 | 2 | |||
| Porto | 2023–24 | Primeira Liga | 30 | 2 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 [f] | 0 | — | 44 | 2 | |
| 2024–25 | Primeira Liga | 31 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 [g] | 0 | 4 [h] | 0 | 47 | 0 | |
| 2025–26 | Primeira Liga | 6 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 [g] | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 0 | |
| Total | 67 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 18 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 98 | 2 | ||
| Career total | 145 | 2 | 16 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 40 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 209 | 4 | ||
Boca Juniors
Porto