Hélio Varela

Hélio Sandro Oliveira Alves Varela (; born 3 May 2002) is a 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.

On 16 August 2024, Varela joined Gent. On 30 October, Varela made his debut with Gent in the Croky Cup against Union Rochefortoise, he immediately scored 2 goals.

International career Born in Portugal, Varela is of Cape Verdean descent. He was called up to the Cape Verde national team for a set of friendlies in October 2023. He debuted with Cape Verde as a substitute in a 5–1 friendly loss to Algeria on 12 October 2023.

On 18 May 2026, he was called up by Cape Verde's head coach Bubista for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Career statistics Club

International

As of match played 21 June 2026. Cape Verde's score listed first, score column indicates score after each Varela goal. + List of international goals scored by Hélio Varela No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition 1 21 June 2026 Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States 21 2–2 2–2 2026 FIFA World Cup