Nilton Varela Lopes (born 25 May 2001) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a defender for FC Porto B in Liga Portugal 2.
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Nilton Varela Lopes | ||
| Date of birth | (2001-05-25) 25 May 2001 (age 21) | ||
| Place of birth | Amadora, Portugal | ||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||
| Position(s) | Defender | ||
| Club information | |||
Current team | Porto B | ||
| Number | 85 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2009–2012 | Sporting | ||
| 2012–2016 | Belenenses | ||
| 2016–2017 | Sporting | ||
| 2017–2019 | Belenenses | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2019–2022 | Belenenses SAD | 42 | (2) |
| 2022– | Porto B | 4 | (0) |
| National team | |||
| 2019 | Cape Verde U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2020 | Portugal U19 | 1 | (0) |
| *Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10 September 2022 | |||
Varela alternated between Lisbon-based clubs Sporting CP and C.F. Os Belenenses in his youth. He made his professional debut with Belenenses SAD in a 2–0 Primeira Liga loss away to Sporting on 10 November 2019.[1] The following 26 January, he scored his first goal in a 2–1 home win over Portimonense SC, with his uncle scoring the other.[2] He was a regular in the second half of the season as Petit replaced Pedro Ribeiro as manager, earning his place from unrelated Spaniard Francisco Varela.[3]
In March 2022, Portugal's Constitutional Court ordered B-SAD to pay over €30,000 in compensation to C.F. Os Belenenses for his development as a player.[4]
Varela transferred to FC Porto B on 19 August 2022, on a two-year deal.[5]
Born in Portugal, Varela is of Cape Verdean descent.[6] He represented the Cape Verde under-19 teams in a friendly 2–0 loss to the Portuguese equivalent on 30 January 2019.[7] He then switched to represent the latter, making an appearance in a 3–1 win over France under-19 on 25 February 2020.[8]
Varela made his professional debut for Belenenses SAD alongside his uncle Silvestre Varela, a winger who played mainly for FC Porto and was a long-time international for Portugal.[1] He was also his teammate at Porto B.[5]