Joaquín Varela

Joaquín Varela Moreno (born 27 June 1998) is a Uruguayan professional footballer who plays as a defender as centre-back for Deportivo Cali.

Club career Varela started his career with Defensor Sporting. He made nine appearances for Pachuca's youth team, prior to returning to Defensor Sporting. On 1 March 2018, Villa Española of the Uruguayan Segunda División completed the loan signing of Varela. He didn't appear competitively in 2019–20 due to injury, though was on the substitute's bench for a league match with Apollon Limassol on 14 September. Despite this, the club renewed his loan for a further year ahead of the 2020–21 campaign. He debuted in a goalless draw away to Enosis Neon Paralimni on 23 November.

International career Varela represented Uruguay at the 2015 South American U-17 Championship in Paraguay, winning eight caps in the process; notably his first in their Group B opener with Bolivia.

Career statistics .