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

Cardoso Varela is set to 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 his apology and his intention to return, the young Portugal international will now have to do more than that. After unilaterally leaving the club in the summer of 2024, at just 15 years old, while the new board 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 him regarded as one of the standout players of the 2008 generation. He will also have to show that his regret is genuine and that he deserves the renewed trust now placed in him by FC Porto.

Throughout the entire process, the Dragons defended the player all the way to the highest authorities. 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 appeared 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 that require serious and transparent agents when dealing with children,” the Porto president said at the time.

That stance, however, would later change. Cardoso Varela will now have to make the most of this second chance 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 close to the level reached by Rodrigo Mora, a 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.