Rodrigo Mora reacts to Cardoso Varela’s return to FC Porto | OneFootball

On the day FC Porto officially confirmed the return of Cardoso Varela, Rodrigo Mora expressed, through social media, his satisfaction at once again having in blue and white his former teammate from the club’s youth ranks and the national team.

“Back where you always belonged,” wrote the young playmaker on Instagram.

Cardoso Varela is back at FC Porto after arriving from Dinamo Zagreb, two years after a turbulent departure from the Portuguese club. The Dragons announced the agreement this Monday, which does not involve any immediate payment for the winger.

“Cardoso Varela is back at FC Porto and is preparing to join the B team squad in 2026/27. At 17 years old, the young Portuguese international forward returns to the Club he represented for two seasons after signing a contract valid until 2029,” the club said in a statement published on its official website.

Although it will not receive any amount for the transfer, the Croatian club will retain 50% of the economic rights relating to a future sale of Cardoso Varela. That percentage may drop to 25% if FC Porto exercises a purchase clause set at two million euros (ME).

The player’s new contract also includes a release clause worth 50 ME.

Porto also added that the solidarity mechanism will be covered by Dinamo Zagreb and assured that there are no intermediary costs associated with the deal.

The winger will begin this new chapter with the B team, coached by João Brandão, and will wear the number 47 shirt. The possibility of reaching the first team is also on his horizon.

“Now I’m more of a man, I decide for myself. My goal is to reach the first team and represent FC Porto well,” said the player in remarks released by the club’s media channels.

In the summer of 2024, after standing out at the Under-17 European Championship at just 15 years old, Cardoso Varela left FC Porto for Dinamo Odranski Obrez, from the Croatian fourth division. The process led the Dragons to file a complaint with FIFA.

The move ultimately did not go through, and the forward was only announced as a Dinamo Zagreb player in February 2025, having signed a professional contract in June of that year.

After a first season with the Croatian club’s youth team, the winger made 25 appearances for the first team in 2025/26 before being sent to the secondary squad.

“It was always my dream to return. Something happened that should never happen, but now I’m focused on working for FC Porto,” added Cardoso Varela.

FC Porto president André Villas-Boas had said on May 28, during the Bola Branca Conference organized by Rádio Renascença, that the player’s future would not lie with the club. Faced with the now confirmed outcome, the executive did not hide his satisfaction.

“He showed a total desire to return to FC Porto and made considerable efforts as an athlete and as a man. He was the victim of threats and lived false dreams, as did his family, and now he is reunited with FC Porto, a home that knows very well what that means. He knows what he can give, what he can become, and we want to believe that his first goal for the first team will be dedicated to the FC Porto institution,” said Villas-Boas, in comments also reproduced by the club.

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