Fernando Lopes dos Santos Varela (born 26 November 1987) is a professional footballer who plays mainly as a centre-back for Liga Portugal 2 club Alverca.

On 23 July 2016, Varela, who had less than six months left on his contract, moved to the Super League Greece with PAOK FC for three years and a €1.4 million fee.

On 24 May 2010, he appeared in a friendly in Covilhã with Portugal – which were preparing for the FIFA World Cup in South Africa – playing the entire match as the minnows (ranked 117th) managed a 0–0 draw.

[9] The Blue Sharks were disqualified from the 2014 World Cup when it was revealed that Varela had played in a qualifying match against Tunisia, despite not completing a four-match suspension for a red card he had received against Equatorial Guinea on 24 March 2013.

[10] That game was later rendered invalid by FIFA as a result of Equatorial Guinea fielding ineligible Emilio Nsue, but Varela's disciplinary record stood.