Alan Varela plans Boca Juniors return, but only if he's in top shape | OneFootball

Alan Varela shared that becoming a father at 16 accelerated his maturity and helped him focus on his football career, in a conversation with the Argentine YouTuber Ezzequiel. Had he not pursued football, the FC Porto midfielder believes he probably would have worked in construction.

“If I weren’t a footballer, I would surely be working on construction sites, or something like that,” said the Argentine midfielder, 24, who is in his third season with the Dragons after making a name for himself at Boca Juniors, the club where he was developed and which he holds dear.

Because of this, Varela dreams of one day returning to the xeneize badge, but with one condition. “In my mind, I always think about going back to Boca… But returning in good shape, to keep giving my best and hopefully win titles. It’s not up to me, the Board that’s there at the time will decide if they want me, but I’d like to go back to Boca in the future. Doing it in a positive way would be ideal,” emphasized Alan, who is under contract with FC Porto until 2030.

This season, in September, the Dragons’ number 22 was called up for the first time to Argentina’s senior national team and, although he didn’t get on the pitch, he fondly remembers the experience of joining the Albiceleste. “I always dreamed of being in the national team and getting that call. I was at the hotel for an FC Porto match [against Gil Vicente]. I woke up from a nap and had thousands of messages from my whole family. That’s when I realized I’d been called up. And the truth is, it was something very beautiful. Obviously, I was very nervous. I tried to be myself, to show who I always am. The truth is, they made me feel part of the group from the moment I arrived at camp, so I’m very grateful to have lived that moment. Hopefully, I can keep going and wear the national team shirt,” underlined Alan Varela, who had already expressed his desire to be at the 2026 World Cup.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.