Valour FC today announce the club has signed French defender Guillaume Pianelli to a U SPORTS contract.

Pianelli, 24, joins Valour FC after he was selected by the club with the fifth overall pick in the 2023 CPL-U SPORTS draft. 

Pianelli spent the previous three seasons with Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, where he appeared in 41 matches. The defender helped the program to a U SPORTS championship in 2019, where he was named to the all-tournament team. He was also a Quebec conference (RSEQ) All-Star in 2019, 2020, and 2021 and a U SPORTS and RSEQ All-Star in 2022. 

Born in Bastia, Corsica, France, some called Pianelli the “Corsican Bull.” He previously played with EF Bastia of the Championnat National 2 in France from 2017 to 18, after coming up through the S.C. Bastia development program. He was also selected by Forge FC with the seventh overall pick in the 2022 CPL-U SPORTS Draft, but did not sign with the club. 

Pianelli is the twelfth new signing made by Valour this offseason, including fellow U SPORTS signing Jordan Tisseur as well as Dante Campbell, Jared Ulloa, Jaime Siaj, Juan Pablo Sanchez, Eskander Mzoughi, Marcello Polisi, Kian Williams, Pacifique Niyongabire, Abdou Samake and Jordan Haynes.

Guillaume Pianelli 

Position: Defender

Height: 6’4 

Birthday: May 1, 1998

Nationality: French 

Last Club: Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières