Daniel Parejo Muñoz (; born 16 April 1989) is a Spanish professional

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

who plays as a

central midfielder A midfielder is an outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As central midfielders often go across boundarie ...

for

Villarreal Villarreal ( ca-valencia , Vila-real) is a city and municipality in the province of Castellón which is part of the Valencian Community in the east of Spain. The town is located at 42 m above sea level, 7 km to the south of the province's ...

. After starting out at Real Madrid, he first made a name in

La Liga The Campeonato Nacional de Liga de Primera División, commonly known simply as Primera División in Spain, and as La Liga in English-speaking countries and officially as LaLiga Santander for sponsorship reasons, stylized as LaLiga, is the men' ...

with

Getafe Getafe () is a municipality and a city in Spain belonging to the Community of Madrid. , it has a population of 180,747, the region's sixth most populated municipality. Getafe is located 13 km south of Madrid's city centre, within a flat ar ...

. Transferring to

Valencia Valencia ( va, València) is the capital of the autonomous community of Valencia and the third-most populated municipality in Spain, with 791,413 inhabitants. It is also the capital of the province of the same name. The wider urban area al ...

in 2011, he went on to appear in 383 official matches for the latter club and win the 2019 Copa del Rey. He also spent four months in England, with

Queens Park Rangers Queens Park Rangers Football Club, commonly abbreviated to QPR, is a professional football club based in Shepherd's Bush, West London, England, which compete in the . After a nomadic early existence, they have played home matches at Loftus Ro ...

. Across all youth levels, Parejo won 43

caps Caps are flat headgear. Caps or CAPS may also refer to: Science and technology Computing * CESG Assisted Products Service, provided by the U.K. Government Communications Headquarters * Composite Application Platform Suite, by Java Caps, a Ja ...

for

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

and scored nine goals. He made his full debut in 2018, at the age of 28.

Club career

Real Madrid

Born in

Coslada Coslada () is a city and municipality in the autonomous community of Madrid in central Spain. The is located in Coslada, which has become a major logistics hub in the country. Due to the area's close proximity to the Madrid–Barajas Airport ...

Community of Madrid The Community of Madrid (; es, Comunidad de Madrid ) is one of the seventeen autonomous communities of Spain. It is located in the centre of the Iberian Peninsula, and of the Central Plateau (''Meseta Central''). Its capital and largest munic ...

, Parejo was a product of Real Madrid's youth academy, joining at the age of 14. He was called on several occasions by first-team coach

Bernd Schuster Bernd Schuster (born 22 December 1959) is a German former professional footballer of the late 1970s through early 1990s, who won club titles playing for the Spanish sides FC Barcelona (1980–1987) and Real Madrid (1988–1990). He played as a m ...

to train with the seniors and, during the 2006–07 season, played four games for Real Madrid Castilla in Segunda División. On 4 August 2008, Parejo signed a one-year

loan In finance, a loan is the lending of money by one or more individuals, organizations, or other entities to other individuals, organizations, etc. The recipient (i.e., the borrower) incurs a debt and is usually liable to pay interest on that ...

deal with

Championship In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

club

, and made his debut five days later, coming off the bench in a 2–1 win against Barnsley at

Loftus Road Loftus Road is a football stadium in White City, London, England, which is home to Queens Park Rangers. In 1981, it became the first stadium in British professional football to have an artificial pitch of Omniturf installed. This remained in ...

, going on to total 18 official appearances. On 17 December, Real Madrid officially recalled the player from his loan effective 1 January 2009, after first-team midfielders

Rubén de la Red Rubén de la Red Gutiérrez (born 5 June 1985) is a Spanish football manager and former central midfielder. He made a name for himself at Getafe after emerging through Real Madrid's ''La Fábrica''. Returning to his first club in 2008, he s ...

and

Mahamadou Diarra Mahamadou Diarra (born 18 May 1981) is a Malian former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder. He served as captain for the Mali national team. Club career OFI Crete Diarra started his professional career at Greek clu ...

were both out for the campaign with various physical problems. Parejo was given the squad number 17, which had previously been assigned to

Ruud van Nistelrooy Rutgerus Johannes Martinus van Nistelrooij (anglicised to Van Nistelrooy; born 1 July 1976) is a Dutch professional football coach and former player. He is currently the coach of PSV Eindhoven. A former footballer, Van Nistelrooy is often consi ...

, who was also out for several months due to a serious injury. He appeared little during the season, his first match being the 4–0

away victory over

Sporting de Gijón Real Sporting de Gijón, S.A.D. (), commonly known as Real Sporting, Sporting Gijón, or simply Sporting (although in an international context this can lead to confusion with Sporting Clube de Portugal) is a Spanish football club from Gijón, ...

on 15 February as he replaced Sergio Ramos for the final ten minutes.

Getafe

In late July 2009, as

Esteban Granero Esteban Félix Granero Molina (; born 2 July 1987) is a Spanish former professional footballer. Known as ''El Pirata'' ("The Pirate"), he could play as a central or an attacking midfielder. He emerged through Real Madrid's youth academy, but ma ...

was re-bought from Getafe CF, Parejo went in the opposite direction with Real, as in Granero's case, having a similar option. On 25 March 2010, he scored against his former club after stealing the ball from

goalkeeper In many team sports which involve scoring goals, the goalkeeper (sometimes termed goaltender, netminder, GK, goalie or keeper) is a designated player charged with directly preventing the opposing team from scoring by blocking or intercepting o ...

Iker Casillas, but the hosts lost it 4–2. Having to compete for a starting berth in central midfield with coach Míchel's son, Adrián – a former teammate in Real Madrid B – he nevertheless contributed solidly during the campaign as they qualified for the second time in their history for the

UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...

. Parejo appeared more in

2010–11 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. ...

(36 matches), but the

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

outskirts side only narrowly avoided relegation.

Valencia

On 14 June 2011,

Valencia CF Valencia Club de Fútbol (, ca-valencia, València Club de Futbol ), commonly referred to as Valencia CF (or simply Valencia) is a professional football club based in Valencia, Spain, that currently plays in La Liga, the top flight of the Spa ...

signed Parejo for a reported €6 million, with out-of-favour goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyá going to Getafe on a year-long loan as part of the deal. He made his league debut on 15 August, playing 80 minutes in a 1–1 away draw to RCD Mallorca. Parejo was quickly deemed surplus to requirements at his new club, his situation not improving even after the serious injury suffered by Sergio Canales, who played in his same position. He bounced back, however, for

2012–13 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1. I ...

, scoring twice in 36 official games in an eventual fifth-place finish. In the following years, Parejo was an undisputed starter for several managers. In the 2014–15 season, his first as captain, he scored a career-best 12 goals, being one of the best scorers in the competition from the midfielder position. In the process, he also became the first Valencia midfielder to score ten or more goals since Vicente in 2003–04. Parejo and

Paco Alcácer Francisco "Paco" Alcácer García (; born 30 August 1993) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for UAE Pro League club Sharjah. Having come through the Valencia youth ranks, he started playing with the first team in 2010 ...

each scored twice in a 5–1 win away to third-place RC Celta de Vigo on 7 November 2015; his first came just before

half-time In several team sports, matches are played in two halves. Half-time (also written halftime or half time) is the name given to the interval between the two halves of the match. Typically, after half-time, teams swap ends of the field of play in or ...

, through a

free kick A free kick is an action used in several codes of football to restart play with the kicking of a ball into the field of play. Association football In association football, the free kick is a method of restarting the game following an offe ...

to put the visitors ahead 2–1. However, in January, after a poor run of form, the former was stripped of his captaincy in favour of the latter by manager

Gary Neville Gary Alexander Neville (born 18 February 1975) is an English football pundit and former player. He is also a co-owner of English Football League club Salford City. After retiring from football in 2011, Neville went into punditry and was a comm ...

. He was reinstated in that position by Marcelino García Toral ahead of the 2017–18 campaign. Parejo lifted the

Copa del Rey The Campeonato de España–Copa de Su Majestad el Rey, commonly known as Copa del Rey or simply La Copa and formerly known as Copa del Presidente de la República (1932–36) and Copa del Generalísimo (1939–76), is an annual knockout footb ...

on 25 May 2019, after a 2–1 defeat of

FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona (), commonly referred to as Barcelona and colloquially known as Barça (), is a professional football club based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, that competes in La Liga, the top flight of Spanish football. Found ...

the final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

Villarreal

On 12 August 2020, Parejo joined

Villarreal CF Villarreal Club de Fútbol, S.A.D. ( ca-valencia, Vila-real Club de Futbol, S.A.D.), usually abbreviated to Villarreal CF or simply Villarreal, is a professional football club based in Villarreal, in the Castellón province of eastern Spain, ...

on a free transfer and a four-year contract. He moved to the local rivals alongside his teammate

Francis Coquelin Francis Joseph Coquelin (; born 13 May 1991) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Spanish club Villarreal. He has also featured for Valencia, Arsenal, Lorient, SC Freiburg and Charlton Athletic in his care ...

, a move which caused fury from Valencia's fans towards their chairman

Peter Lim Peter Lim (born 21 May 1953) is a Singaporean business magnate who was a stockbroker, and is now a private investor who has invested in sectors ranging from palm oil to medicine. In 2019, Forbes ranked him as the 10th richest person in Singa ...

. Parejo won the Europa League in his first season at the Estadio de la Cerámica. In

, he took the free kick that

Gerard Moreno Gerard Moreno Balagueró (born 7 April 1992) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a striker for La Liga club Villarreal and the Spain national team. In his career, he has played for Villarreal, Mallorca and Espanyol, winning t ...

finished for Villarreal's goal in a 1–1 draw against Manchester United, and also scored in the 11–10

penalty shootout The penalty shootout is a method of determining a winner in sports matches that would have otherwise been drawn or tied. The rules for penalty shootouts vary between sports and even different competitions; however, the usual form is similar to pe ...

victory.

International career

Parejo was named in the Spain under-19 team for the 2007 UEFA European Championship. In the tournament held in Austria, he scored the final winner against

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders ...

(1–0). Parejo was promoted to the under-21 team the following year, appearing in several qualification matches for the 2009 European Championship. He won his first

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the senior team on 27 March 2018, replacing

Thiago Alcântara Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento ( es, Alcántara; born 11 April 1991), or simply Thiago (; ), is a professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Liverpool and the Spain national team. Born in Italy to Brazi ...

late into the 6–1 friendly defeat of

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Career statistics

Club

International

Honours

Valencia *

: 2018–19 Villarreal *

: 2020–21 Spain U19 *

UEFA European Under-19 Championship The UEFA European Under-19 Championship, or simply UEFA Under-19 Championship or the UEFA Euro U-19, is an annual football competition contested by the European men's under-19 national teams of the member associations of UEFA. Spain and England ...

: 2007 Spain U20 * Mediterranean Games: 2009 Spain U21 *

UEFA European Under-21 Championship The UEFA European Under-21 Championship, the UEFA Under-21 Championship or simply the Euro Under-21, is a biennial football competition contested by the European men's under-21 national teams of the UEFA member associations. Since 1992, the comp ...

: 2011 Individual *

UEFA Union of European Football Associations (UEFA ; french: Union des associations européennes de football; german: Union der europäischen Fußballverbände) is one of six continental bodies of governance in association football. It governs f ...

La Liga Team of The Season: 2017–18, 2018–19 *UEFA Europa League Squad of the Season: 2020–21

References

External links

*
CiberChe biography and stats
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Parejo, Dani 1989 births Living people People from Coslada Spanish footballers Footballers from the Community of Madrid Association football midfielders La Liga players Segunda División players Segunda División B players Real Madrid Castilla footballers Real Madrid CF players Getafe CF footballers Valencia CF players Villarreal CF players English Football League players Queens Park Rangers F.C. players UEFA Europa League winning players Spain youth international footballers Spain under-21 international footballers Spain international footballers Competitors at the 2009 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in football Mediterranean Games gold medalists for Spain Spanish expatriate footballers Expatriate footballers in England Spanish expatriate sportspeople in England