A former Manchester United player who saw his career take a negative turn after a match against Liverpool has the opportunity to prove his worth at the Club World Cup.
Cast your mind back to 2016. Louis van Gaal was the head coach of Manchester United while Jurgen Klopp was still in the early stages of his tenure as Liverpool boss.
England’s most successful clubs were competing in the Europa League at the time and were drawn against each other in the round of 16.
Liverpool came into the second leg leading by two goals on aggregate after a Daniel Sturridge and Roberto Firmino-inspired 2-0 win against United at Anfield.
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Then, a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford saw the Reds progress before they were beaten in the final against Sevilla.
Philippe Coutinho’s goal caught out United’s right-back Guillermo Varela, who made 11 appearances for United but never seemed to recover from that night at Old Trafford.
In the summer of 2017, the Uruguayan was sold to Penarol before spells at Copenhagen and Dynamo Moscow followed.
You may also recall that he was loaned to Eintracht Frankfurt, before the German club told him to return to United in May 2017 after getting a tattoo against orders, which resulted in him suffering an inflamed arm ahead of the German Cup final.
"The club cannot tolerate that a player would defy instructions," said sporting director Fredi Bobic.
"We'd been thinking about a loan extension. But that won't happen. He'll be suspended with immediate effect."
This was not the first time the player’s decision-making may have got him into trouble, as he admitted that Van Gaal had a “difficult” personality in 2016.
Varela told Uruguayan newspaper La Ovacion: "He has a bit of a difficult personality to deal with, and sometimes it isn't easy for the players.
"That has been tough, because there are players who were accustomed to Ferguson. The truth is, we felt his departure a lot. There was a before and an after."
And after years away from the spotlight, English fans will be able to catch a glimpse of Varela in action during the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup.
The 32-year-old is currently at Brazilian side Flamengo, who will compete in the competition.
Flamengo will compete in Group D alongside Chelsea, ES Tunis and LAFC.
Topics: Football, Manchester United, Liverpool, Flamengo
Luke Davies