Fernando Varela File: How He Was Excluded by Razvan Lucescu

Reports in Portugal that Fernando Varela had lost his place in the PAOK squad following the transfer of Gustavo’s son to Benfica provoked the veteran defender’s reaction.

“I lost my place in the starting XI before the agreement with Benfica. Don’t lie” In a post on Instagram, the Cape Verde defender wrote that he wanted to separate the two cases.

Data is at a disadvantage

The truth is that Varela is now at a disadvantage, which happened in the case of his son. And not because Gustavo finally started his professional career at Benfica and not at Dikefalos, in whose academies he was trained in recent years.

He is more likely to be credited with failing to inform PAOK about the interests of the Portuguese during the negotiations. The people on the team who wanted to sign Varelas junior learned from third parties that he was in contact and had reached an agreement with Benfica. This irritated the Savvidis family and the administration of Dikefalos. And that will play a decisive role in the future of the experienced defender, which is more than uncertain.

The reasons he was excluded are competitive

However, the reason Fernando Varela was excluded from PAOK’s fundamental decisions seems to be more competitive than a relationship with his son. His last appearance was on December 5 in the loss to Ionikos, in which he started as a key player – even with the captain’s armband and since then he hasn’t played a single minute in the five following games for his team until Christmas holidays. The experienced stopper was left out on the bench in the second cup game with AEL, in the championship games with Lamia, PAS Giannina and Astera Tripolis and in the last European game with Lincoln in Toumba.

The defeat to Ionikos was PAOK’s third straight championship in what Lutsescu had described as the most difficult of his career in Dikefalos. And then he made the meaningful statement: “You will see my reaction.”

Varela seems to have paid “the price” for PAOK’s bad time, the “collapse”, and was far behind in the hierarchy when choosing his coach. Razvan Lucescu has shown that he is only interested in how to make his team more efficient. So if Varela did his job he would have no problem using it, even if his move made the administration uncomfortable.

Its dire future and its prospects

What will happen from now on? With his contract expiring at the end of the season, all options are open to him. Gustavo’s case may not be responsible for his sideline activity, but it removes any doubts that might have existed in Toumba as to whether or not PAOK’s collaboration with him should be renewed.

What is certain is that Fernando Varela, who along with Angel Crespo is the footballer with the most trophies in PAOK history, will leave Toumba either in the summer or now in January.

His contract, signed in May 2019 – which brings him more than 1 million euros a year – still counts him among the highest-paid in Dikefalos’ squad and is not easy to terminate.

If the Capo Verde defender cannot find a team to support him, he will most likely follow his son to Portugal and finish his career there. The money he gets from PAOK can only be found in Arab leagues. Where he was searched before the return by Razvan Lucescu, who kept him in Toumba….