Cardoso Varela starts in FC Porto B, must work his way up | OneFootball

Cardoso Varela will return to FC Porto and is expected to begin training with the B team at the start of next week. That is where this unexpected second spell at the club will begin, although the ambition is to reach the first team under Francesco Farioli.

Despite the apology and the intention to return, the young Portuguese international will now have to do more than that. After leaving the club unilaterally in the summer of 2024, at just 15 years old, while the new administration led by André Villas-Boas was trying to extend his youth contract, Cardoso Varela needs to make up for lost time in Croatia and once again show the talent that had placed him among the top prospects of the 2008 generation. He will also have to show that his regret is genuine and that he deserves the trust now renewed by FC Porto.

Throughout the entire process, the Dragons pursued the player’s defense to the highest level. The club filed a complaint with FIFA, denounced what it even described as a kidnapping by former agent Andy Bara, and fought a battle aimed at protecting not only Cardoso Varela, but also other young players who might go through similar circumstances.

As recently as May, André Villas-Boas seemed to completely rule out the possibility of a return. “His future is not at FC Porto, but I wish him all the luck in the world. He is not entirely to blame in this process, but he was sold dreams for which serious agents who are clear with children are needed,” the Porto president said at the time.

That stance, however, would later change. Cardoso Varela will now have to make the most of the second chance he has been given and show André Villas-Boas that it made sense to open the doors of the Dragão to him again. Among his challenges will also be getting closer to the level reached by Rodrigo Mora, his former teammate at FC Porto and in the youth national teams.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.