# Gonzalo Villar (footballer)

Gonzalo Villar del Fraile (Spanish pronunciation:; born 23 March 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Segunda División club Granada.

## Club career
### Early career

Villar was born in Murcia, and represented Elche CF as a youth. On 4 January 2015, aged just 16, he made his senior debut with the reserves by coming on as a second-half substitute in a 0–3 Segunda División B home loss against UE Sant Andreu.
On 28 August 2015 Villar joined Valencia CF for a fee of € 175,000, and returned to youth football. Promoted to the B-team ahead of the 2017–18 season, he was a first-choice in Lubo Penev's side, scoring his first senior goal on 26 August 2017 in a 4–1 home routing of CF Peralada-Girona B.

### Elche

On 9 July 2018, Villar returned to Elche, being assigned to the main squad in Segunda División; Valencia retained 80% of his future transfer. He made his professional debut on 18 August, starting in a 0–0 home draw against Granada CF.
Villar scored his first professional goal on 24 November 2019, netting his team's third in a 3–3 away draw against Málaga CF.

### Roma

On 29 January 2020, Villar moved abroad for the first time in his career, signing a four-and-a-half-year contract with AS Roma. Roma paid an initial fee of €4 million for his transfer, with potential extra €1 million due based on performance. He made his Serie A debut on 15 February, replacing Diego Perotti in a 1–2 away loss at Atalanta BC.

#### Loan to Getafe

On 13 January 2022, Villar returned to his home country after agreeing to a loan deal with La Liga side Getafe CF until the end of the season.

#### Loan to Sampdoria

On 8 August 2022, Villar joined Sampdoria on a season-long loan with an option to buy.

#### Second loan to Getafe

On 13 January 2023, Villar returned to Getafe on a season-long loan with the option to make the deal permanent, which becomes an obligation if certain conditions are met.

### Granada

On 4 August 2023, Villar signed a contract with Granada CF, newly-promoted to the top tier.

## International career

Due to the isolation of some national team players following the positive COVID-19 test of Sergio Busquets, Spain's under-21 squad were called up for the international friendly against Lithuania on 8 June 2021. Villar made his senior debut in the match as Spain won 4–0.

## Personal life

Villar's younger brother Javier is also a footballer and a midfielder. He too was groomed at Elche.

## Career statistics
### Club

    As of match played 24 May 2024
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition :
| Club | Season | League | League | League | Cup | Cup | Continental | Continental | Total | Total |
| Club | Season | Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals |
| Elche B | 2014–15 | Segunda División B | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 3 | 0 |
| Valencia B | 2015–16 | Segunda División B | 0 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 0 | 0 |
| Valencia B | 2016–17 | Segunda División B | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 |
| Valencia B | 2017–18 | Segunda División B | 31 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 2 |
| Valencia B | Total | Total | 32 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 32 | 2 |
| Elche | 2018–19 | Segunda División | 15 | 0 | 2 | 1 | — | — | 17 | 1 |
| Elche | 2019–20 | Segunda División | 20 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | 22 | 1 |
| Elche | Total | Total | 35 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | — | 39 | 2 |
| Roma | 2019–20 | Serie A | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 11 | 0 |
| Roma | 2020–21 | Serie A | 33 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0 | 47 | 0 |
| Roma | 2021–22 | Serie A | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0 |
| Roma | Total | Total | 42 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 21 | 0 | 64 | 0 |
| Getafe (loan) | 2021–22 | La Liga | 10 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 10 | 0 |
| Sampdoria (loan) | 2022–23 | Serie A | 15 | 0 | 1 | 0 | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Getafe (loan) | 2022–23 | La Liga | 16 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 16 | 0 |
| Granada | 2023–24 | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 1 | 0 | – | – | 36 | 1 |
| Career total | Career total | Career total | 188 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 21 | 0 | 216 | 5 |

### International

    As of match played 8 June 2021
Appearances and goals by national team and year :
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
| Spain | 2021 | 1 | 0 |
| Total | Total | 1 | 0 |