Hélio Varela

Hélio Sandro Oliveira Alves Varela (born 3 May 2002) is a Cape Verdean professional footballer who plays as a winger for Israeli Premier League club Maccabi Tel Aviv. Born in Portugal, Varela plays for the Cape Verde national team.

Club career

Varela is a youth product of Monte Caparica, Charneca Caparica, Vitória Setúbal and Cova da Piedade. He began his senior career with Amora in 2020, before joining Sintrense for the 2021–22 Liga 3 season. He moved to the reserves of Portimonense in the summer of 2022. He made his professional debut with them in a 0–0 (5–4) Taça da Liga penalty shootout loss to Leixões on 30 July 2023. He scored his first league goal in a 1–1 Primeira Liga tie with Arouca on 26 August 2023.