Porto's president, André Villas-Boas, stated that the transfer of Cardoso Varela, a 17-year-old Portuguese winger, to an amateur club in Croatia was planned to enable a quick subsequent transfer to another top club, likely in one of the top five leagues. Villas-Boas said this could still happen. As a Portugal U17 international, Varela joined GNK Dinamo Zagreb in July 2025 under a contract lasting until 2028, and he has been linked with FC Barcelona. Reports in early 2026 mentioned a €5 million clause in his contract, and a report from November 2025 claimed an agreement had been reached for a transfer to FC Barcelona for a fee of €25 million.