Gonzalo Villar (footballer)

In this Spanish name, the first or paternal surname is Villar and the second or maternal family name is del Fraile.

Gonzalo Villar
Personal information
Full name Gonzalo Villar del Fraile
Date of birth (1998-03-23) 23 March 1998
Place of birth Murcia, Spain
Height 1.81 m (5 ft 11 in)[1]
Position Central midfielder
Team information
Current team
 Elche
(on loan from Dinamo Zagreb)
Youth career
2009–2015 Elche
2015–2017 Valencia
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015 Elche B 3 (0)
2016–2018 Valencia B 32 (2)
2018–2020 Elche 35 (1)
2020–2023 Roma 42 (0)
2022 → Getafe (loan) 10 (0)
2022–2023 → Sampdoria (loan) 15 (0)
2023 → Getafe (loan) 16 (0)
2023–2025 Granada 72 (3)
2025– Dinamo Zagreb 11 (1)
2026– → Elche (loan) 0 (0)
International career‡
2016 Spain U19 2 (0)
2019–2021 Spain U21 10 (1)
2021 Spain 1 (0)
* Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 14 December 2025
‡ National team caps and goals as of 9 June 2021

Gonzalo Villar del Fraile (Spanish pronunciation: [ɡonˈθalo βiˈʎaɾ]; born 23 March 1998) is a Spanish professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for La Liga club Elche CF, on loan from Croatian Football League club GNK Dinamo Zagreb.

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.[2]

On 28 August 2015 Villar joined Valencia CF for a fee of € 175,000, and returned to youth football.[3] Promoted to the B-team ahead of the 2017–18 season, he was a first-choice in Lubo Penev's side,[4] 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;[5] Valencia retained 80% of his future transfer.[6] He made his professional debut on 18 August, starting in a 0–0 home draw against Granada CF.[7]

Villar scored his first professional goal on 24 November 2019, netting his team's third in a 3–3 away draw against Málaga CF.[8]

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.[9] He made his Serie A debut on 15 February, replacing Diego Perotti in a 1–2 away loss at Atalanta BC.[10]

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.[11]

Loan to Sampdoria

On 8 August 2022, Villar joined Sampdoria on a season-long loan with an option to buy.[12]

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.[13]

Granada

On 4 August 2023, Villar signed a contract with Granada CF, newly-promoted to the top tier.[14]

GNK Dinamo Zagreb

On 17 June 2025, Villar joined Croatian side GNK Dinamo Zagreb on a "multi-year" contract.[15]

Loan to Elche

On 31 January 2026, Villar returned to his first club Elche on a six-month loan deal, with a buyout clause.[16]

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.[17] Villar made his senior debut in the match as Spain won 4–0.[18]

Personal life

Villar's younger brother Javier is also a footballer and a midfielder. He too was groomed at Elche.[19]

Career statistics

Club

As of match played 14 December 2025[20]
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League Cup Continental Total
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
2016–17 Segunda División B 1 0 — — 1 0
2017–18 Segunda División B 31 2 — — 31 2
Total 32 2 — — 32 2
Elche 2018–19 Segunda División 15 0 2 1 — 17 1
2019–20 Segunda División 20 1 2 0 — 22 1
Total 35 1 4 1 — 39 2
Roma 2019–20 Serie A 9 0 0 0 2 0 11 0
2020–21 Serie A 33 0 1 0 13 0 47 0
2021–22 Serie A 0 0 0 0 6 0 6 0
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
2024–25 La Liga 37 2 3 0 – 40 2
Total 72 3 4 0 – 76 3
Dinamo Zagreb 2025–26 Croatian Football League 11 1 1 0 3 0 15 1
Career total 236 7 11 1 24 0 271 8

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 1 0

References

  1. ^ "Gonzalo Villar". U.C. Sampdoria. Retrieved 2 September 2022.
  2. ^ "El filial cae en el Narcís Sala (3–0)" [The reserve team stumble at the Narcís Sala (3–0)] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 4 January 2015. Archived from the original on 16 November 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  3. ^ "El juvenil Gonzalo Villar se marcha traspasado al Valencia" [Youth player Gonzalo Villar goes out transferred to Valencia] (in Spanish). Tele Elx. 28 August 2015. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  4. ^ "Sensación Gonzalo Villar" (in Spanish). Las Provincias. 5 October 2017. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  5. ^ "OFICIAL | Gonzalo Villar regresa al Elche C.F." [OFFICIAL | Gonzalo Villar returns to Elche C.F.] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  6. ^ "COMUNICADO OFICIAL" [OFFICIAL ANNOUNCEMENT] (in Spanish). Valencia CF. 9 July 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2018.
  7. ^ "Elche y Granada se presentan con la pólvora mojada" [Elche and Granada present themselves with a wet powder] (in Spanish). Marca. 18 August 2018. Retrieved 19 August 2018.
  8. ^ "Homenaje de goles sin premio" [Goal honour without prize] (in Spanish). Marca. 24 November 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Roma complete signing of Gonzalo Villar" (Press release). AS Roma. 29 January 2020. Archived from the original on 15 October 2021. Retrieved 30 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Atalanta 2–1 Roma". Football Italia. 15 February 2020. Retrieved 18 February 2020.
  11. ^ "Comunicado Oficial /Borja Mayoral y Gonzalo Villar" [Official announcement /Borja Mayoral and Gonzalo Villar] (in Spanish). Getafe CF. 13 January 2022. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Gonzalo Villar joins Sampdoria on loan". AS Roma. 8 August 2022.
  13. ^ "Gonzalo Villar joins Getafe on initial loan move". AS Roma. 13 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Comunicado Oficial | Gonzalo Villar, nuevo jugador del Granada CF" [Official announcement | Gonzalo Villar, new player of Granada CF] (in Spanish). Granada CF. 4 August 2023. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  15. ^ "Gonzalo Villar new player of Dinamo". GNK Dinamo Zagreb. 17 June 2025. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  16. ^ "Gonzalo Villar vuelve a casa" [Gonzalo Villar returns home] (in Spanish). Elche CF. 31 January 2026. Retrieved 2 February 2026.
  17. ^ "Oficial | Lista de convocados para el encuentro ante Lituania" [Official | Squad list for the match against Lithuania]. Royal Spanish Football Federation (in Spanish). 6 June 2021. Archived from the original on 8 October 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  18. ^ "Spain youngsters impress in Lithuania rout". MARCA. 8 June 2021. Retrieved 9 June 2021.
  19. ^ "Javi Villar, algo más que el hermano de Gonzalo y su golazo con el Real Madrid" [Javi Villar, something more than the brother of Gonzalo and his great goal with Real Madrid] (in Spanish). El Español. 22 December 2021. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
  20. ^ "Gonzalo Villar". SofaScore. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
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