Diego Villares Yáñez

Diego Villares Yáñez spent seven years working his way to the Deportivo La Coruña first team he now marshals from central midfield. He joined the club's academy setup in May 2018 after coming through Racing Club Villalbés in his native Vilalba, and Deportivo sent him straight into the reserve side, Deportivo Fabril, in the regionalised third tier. A loan back to Villalbés for the first half of the 2018–19 season gave him more senior minutes before he returned to finish his development with the B team.

His breakthrough with the first team came in February 2021, when he was handed a debut in Primera Federación away at Coruxo, a match Deportivo lost 2-0. That was still a step below full professional football, and the wait for a fully professional debut stretched on for years amid the club's rebuilding in the third tier. It finally came in August 2024, at the age of 28, in a home defeat to Real Oviedo in Segunda División.

Villares has also represented Galicia's unofficial national team, coming on as a substitute for Álex López in the 60th minute of a friendly against Panama at Balaídos in May 2024, a match Galicia lost 0-2.

Deportivo's fortunes turned alongside his own: the club won promotion back to La Liga from the second tier in the 2024–25 season, with Villares part of the squad throughout that rebuilding period.