When discussing highly underrated and often unappreciated midfielders, Daniel Parejo stands out. While many recognize him as one of Europe’s most well-rounded midfielders, few know the intriguing story behind his rise to prominence. Born in Coslada, a town in the Madrid region, young Parejo started playing competitive football at just 6 years old in a park near his home. His outstanding talent soon grabbed the attention of scouts from Real Madrid’s youth academy.
This is the story of a Spanish footballer who emerged from humble beginnings to become a legend at Valencia. Without further ado, let’s delve into his journey.
Daniel Parejo: The Underrated Midfielder Who Transformed Valencia’s Fate
Preamble:
To truly understand a man like Daniel Parejo, you need to dive into his full story — his childhood, early life, and family background. From his parents, especially his father, Lorenzo Parejo, to his wife, Aroa Martínez and their children, his life is rich with personal experiences. There’s also his lifestyle, personality, and much more that shape who he is today.
To give you a glimpse of the remarkable journey of Dani Parejo, imagine a pictorial summary that captures key moments of his life. It becomes clear that Daniel Parejo has travelled a long, inspiring road to get where he is now.
From Humble Beginnings to Stardom: A visual journey through Dani Parejo’s life, capturing his ascent in the world of football. Every frame underscores how far he’s come.
Daniel Parejo Childhood Story:
For Biography starters, he bears the nickname “Dani.” Daniel “Dani” Parejo Muñoz was born on the 16th day of April 1989 in the city of Coslada in Spain. He is one of two children born to his little-known mother and father, Lorenzo Parejo.
Meet Daniel Parejo’s parents, Mr and Mrs Lorenzo Parejo.
The Spanish national of white ethnicity with European family origins was raised in his birth city – Colada – in Spain, where he grew up alongside his loving sister, identified as Natalia Parejo.
Growing up in Coslada, young Parejo was aged 6 when he began playing competitive football at a park close to his family house.
The park was all sandy and had an undulating terrain like nature. Nonetheless, To Parejo and his peers, it felt like playing on natural grass while a selected pair of the trees in the park served as their goalposts.
More so, the youngsters considered the park to be more comfortable than playing in the streets, where they were often scolded for damaging lamp posts.
Childhood photo of Daniel Parejo (first from left) having fun with his peers at the park where they played football.
Daniel Parejo Education:
By the time Parejo was aged 9, he had joined the youth academy system of his native club, CD Coslada, where he had trained for two years before moving to Espinilla Academy in the year 2000.
It was at Espinilla Academy that Parejo spent three seasons learning and developing skillsets that impressed former Real Madrid scout Sito.
Known for his flair of sighting good prospects, Sito was quick to facilitate Parejo’s move to the youth systems of Real Madrid, a development that ushered the then-14-year-old football prodigy to a new world of possibilities.
14-year-old Daniel Parejo was brought to Real Madrid by a scout who saw prospects in him.
Daniel Parejo Biography – Early Career Life:
While at Real Madrid Academy, Parejo made quick progression through the club ranks, exhibiting technical quality and fine handling of the ball in ways that captured the attention of anyone who had no interest in football.
He was even often invited by former coach Bernd Schuster to train with the senior squads.
Parejo quickly caught the attention of Real Madrid legend Alfredo Di Stefano, who praised the young talent, admitting that Parejo was the best player he had ever seen in the Los Blancos youth system.
At Real Madrid, DP was Alfredo Di Stefano’s favourite, who always praised him for his stellar performances.
In fact, when Real Madrid decided to send a young Parejo on loan to Queens Park Rangers in 2008, a move seen as a setback, Di Stéfano protested by refusing to attend B team (Castilla) matches, showing his disapproval of the decision.
Real Madrid eventually recalled the player from his loan in January 2009 and made him feature in first-team games as a replacement for injured midfielders.
Road To Fame Story:
In July 2009, Parejo joined La Liga club Getafe CF as part of a swap deal that became a turning point in his career.
He was featured in almost all games for Getafe in the 2009-10 season and helped the club earn the UEFA Europa League qualification for the second time in their history.
Shortly after ensuring that Getafe avoided relegation during the 2010–11 season, Parejo joined Valencia CF and worked his way up to become Captain of the club.
Unfortunately, he had challenges with keeping a consistent form and became a scapegoat for everything that went wrong at the club during its horrific 2015-16 season.
At the peak of Valencia’s woes, Parejo was stripped of his captaincy by the then-coach Gary Neville while fans increasingly grew frustrated with the then-ex-captain lack of improvement.
Daniel Parejo Bio – Rise To Fame Story:
Parejo eventually witnessed a change in fortune when ex-manager Marcelino Garcia Toral took charge of Valencia in 2017.
It was Marcelino who restored Parejo’s confidence as he built the team around the midfielder and restored his lost captaincy.
Parejo repaid the confidence by recording all-around development and spearheading the return of Los Che to the top.
Fast forward to the time of writing, Parejo is not just one of Europe’s most well-rounded midfielders but a player with an impressive High Pass Percentage and set-piece proficiency.
He is – as a good leader – indispensable to his team, and like a fine wine, Parejo is getting better with age. Parejo was among those – the likes of Carlos Soler (CM), Kang-in Lee, etc. who won the 2018/2019 Copa del Rey trophy. After spending ten seasons with Valencia, Parejo signed with Villarreal in 2020, expressing that it wouldn’t be his final football chapter. The rest, as they say, is history.
Daniel Parejo and Aroa Martínez:
Behind the scenes of Parejo’s engaging football career, he has a lot going on in his love life, we bring you facts about the playmaker’s love life, beginning with his relationship with his ex-girlfriend – Aroa Martínez.
Little is known about how or when the ex-lovebirds began dating. However, they began living together after the playmaker joined Valencia in 2011.
They reportedly dated for two years before going separate ways due to irreconcilable differences.
Once upon a time, he was romantically involved with his ex-girlfriend Aroa Martínez during his early days at Valencia.
About Isabel Botello, Daniel Parejo’s Wife and Children:
Moving on, Parejo met and began dating Isabel Botello, who went on to become his wife. Aside from being a wife, Isabel is a champion of Parejo’s interests as she often takes to social media to berate fans whenever they make negative comments about him.
The couple’s marriage is blessed with two children at the time of writing. They include a son, Dani Jr, while little is known about the youngest son, born in 2018.
Beyond Romance: Dani Parejo and Isabel Botello’s bond transcends love. Isabel stands staunchly by Parejo, defending him online. Together, they cherish their two sons, including young Dani Jr.
Family Life:
The Valencia Legend is big on matters relating to his household. Here, we bring you facts about the Daniel Parejo family members, beginning with his parents and outlining facts about his ancestry.
Daniel Parejo’s father and mother:
Dani has a little-known mom and a dad identified as Lorenzo Parejo. Parejo’s mother – whose family background is yet unknown – always ensures that she doesn’t miss his games.
On the other hand, the playmaker’s dad – who is of confirmed Spanish roots – doesn’t fail to tip him for greatness.
Overall, Parejo credits his parents for being of great support to him ever since he took his first step in football at a park and on the streets of Coslada.
About Daniel Parejo’s siblings:
Parejo does not have a brother or brother(s) but a sister identified as Natalia Parejo. Like other members of Parejo’s immediate family, Natalia is a regular spectator of stadiums where her brother plies his trade.
It goes without saying that the siblings have been close companions from their early life to date.
Daniel Parejo with his parents and sister Natalia (2nd from left).
About Daniel Parejo’s relatives:
Away from Parejo’s immediate family life, not much is known about his maternal grandparents. This also goes to his paternal grandfather and grandmother.
Similarly, there are no records of the playmakers’ uncles, aunts and cousins. His nieces and nephews are yet to be made known at the time of writing this biography.
Personal Life:
Do you know that Daniel Parejo embodies personality traits that include Humility, focus and emotional intelligence? Added to Parejo’s persona is his gift of resilience and capacity for leadership.
The Aries Zodiac sign guides the midfielder, and the same goes for Matias Soule. He moderately reveals details about his personality and private life. Additionally, he enjoys travelling, watching movies, playing video games like FIFA, and spending quality time with his family.
Daniel Parejo was spending a good time with his friends and family.
Lifestyle:
Speak of how Dani Parejo makes and spends his money; the aggregate sum of his net worth comes from football. It is from the salary he receives for playing top-flight football. Other constituents of his wealth are monetary proceeds that he acquires from endorsing brands like Adidas.
An analysis of Parejo’s spending habits on acquiring assets like cars and houses is still under review. He strikes fans as ones who live luxurious lifestyles. This is evident in the vacation photos he takes with his family.
Parejo spends a lot of time on vacations with his wife and children.
Untold Facts:
To wrap up our Daniel Parejo childhood story and biography, we present lesser-known truths about him.
Daniel Parejo Tattoos:
Daniel Parejo has just one tattoo or body art on his right hand. The tattoo is drawn in Arabic lettering. It has been of great mystery to many who don’t understand what it means. Upon research, we found that it is the Arabic rendering of the playmaker’s name.
The Central Midfielder’s name is tattooed on his arm in Arabic writings.
Daniel Parejo Religion:
The midfield maestro is not big on religion and has not yet given clear pointers to his beliefs. Thus, it cannot be authoritatively stated whether he is a Christian, Muslim or atheist.
Thanks for reading our version of Daniel Parejo’s Biography and Childhood Story. We strive for accuracy and fairness in our quest to deliver you the Biography of Footballers in Europe.
Kindly stay tuned for more history on Spanish professional footballers. Indeed, the biographies of Juan Bernat, Unai Simon and Oihan Sancet would interest you.
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