- Birthdate: 24 Mar 1993
- Birthplace: Montevideo, Uruguay
- Position: Defender
- Joined United: 11 Jun 2013
- Joined From: Penarol
- United Debut: 5 Dec 2015 v West Ham (H)
Officially the first signing of the post-Sir Alex Ferguson era, the tenacious right-back earned a dream move from Penarol after impressing on trial at United, and cut his teeth with Real Madrid's Castilla team last term.
The former Uruguay Under-20 international caught the Reds scouts' attention when representing his country in the qualifiers for the World Cup at that level in Turkey. A no-nonsense youngster who enjoys the challenge of defending, he performs with a combination of intelligence and aggression.
In a unique situation, his entire trial was spent with the first-team squad and he impressed Sir Alex Ferguson and the players with his ability to adapt to what was a huge step up in class.
He signed his contract in June 2013, and a full season followed in the Under-21s as he adapted to life in Manchester, only being prevented from becoming a virtual ever-present for Warren Joyce's team by a return to South America in the winter for personal reasons.
Varela proved popular with supporters and sprinted forward in injury time to set up the dramatic winner for Paddy McNair at Reading that extended the campaign and set up a semi-final date with Liverpool. But Chelsea ended any hopes of lifting a trophy in his first year at Old Trafford.
On transfer deadline day in September 2014, Varela agreed a loan move to Real's reserve team, Castilla, for the rest of the season and impressed coach Zinedine Zidane with his efforts. Returning to the fold with some valuable experience Varela scored his first goal for the Reds, a fine solo effort, in the Under-21s' 1-1 draw at Leicester City's King Power Stadium in August, the opening game of the season. He continued to look very comfortable at that level in either full-back slot and clearly one of the senior figures in the side.
The South American's first call-up to the 18-man Premier League squad came when West Ham United provided the opposition at Old Trafford on 5 December 2015 and he made his senior debut as a half-time substitute for Paddy McNair.
