Varela, regarded as one of the most talented players of his generation in Portugal, was reportedly being monitored by several clubs including Juventus, Manchester City, Inter, Bayern, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, and Borussia Dortmund. Despite the interest from these top clubs, Varela, who had been a prominent talent at Porto, experienced a challenging period marked by allegations of mistreatment and contractual disputes with the club. Porto attempted to enforce a 30 million euro release clause and demanded 3 million euros from his parents should he sign with another club. Due to these circumstances, Varela began training with a lower league club in Croatia, with his career being managed by agents Wilson Sardinha and Faustino Gomes. His move away from Portugal came after Porto refused to meet financial demands, which resulted in him missing school exams and having to repeat a year.