Nilton Varela Lopes (born 25 May 2001) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a left-back or winger for Primeira Liga club Estrela da Amadora.
He made his professional debut with Belenenses SAD in a 2–0 Primeira Liga loss away to Sporting on 10 November 2019.
[2] He was a regular in the second half of the season as Petit replaced Pedro Ribeiro as manager, earning his place from unrelated Spaniard Francisco Varela.
[5] On 30 January 2024, Varela returned to the Primeira Liga, joining Estrela da Amadora.
[7] He represented the Cape Verde under-19 teams in a friendly 2–0 loss to the Portuguese equivalent on 30 January 2019.