Joao Cancelo continues to accumulate minutes after a rhythmless August of competition. The full-back, who was already a starter in Slovakia, had an additional half-hour on Monday in the European Championship Qualifier between Portugal and Luxembourg. Following the match, just like Joao Félix, Cancelo exclusively spoke to SPORT.
The wing-back reiterated that Barcelona is the club of his dreams and assured that he will give his all to “excel” as a Blaugrana. Furthermore, he emphasized the importance of unity in the Champions League and warned that in order to win titles, it will be mandatory to “form a great human group.”
“I will do everything to excel at Barcelona. I will try to showcase my football, my quality, but always with the help of the team because I need it, and I believe we have a lot of quality in the squad. Hopefully, it will be a great season,” he stated before addressing the significance of fostering a sense of togetherness for success. “It is a very young team, I already knew some players like Ferran or Gündogna. Everyone welcomed me very well, they are amazing guys. We can only achieve great things by forming a great group,” he said.
Cancelo also had praise for Xavi. “The coach gives me a bit of freedom, and I like that. I feel comfortable playing on the inside but also on the outside. I will adapt to whatever he asks of me,” commented the Portuguese full-back, who will make his debut in front of his new fans this weekend. “Whether it is at Montjuïc or anywhere else, I always have the desire to play in the Barcelona shirt and show the fans and the people who believed in me how difficult it was to reach Barcelona. I want to achieve great things with this club because it is where I have always dreamed of being. It is a dream club, all my friends know it: all my idols played for Barcelona,” he reflected.
The player loaned from Manchester City opted for a cautious speech when assessing Barcelona’s chances in the Champions League. “It is true that Barcelona has not fared well in Europe in recent years, but it is a very big club. We will try to bring Barcelona back to the level it has always shown in the Champions League. At this moment, there are teams more favored than us. However, we have a very good team and we can achieve great things. The squad is young but has a lot of quality,” explained Cancelo.
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