João Cancelo

Biography

João Pedro Cavaco Cancelo (born 27 May 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right-back or left-back for La Liga club Barcelona and the Portugal national team. After coming through Benfica's youth academy, Cancelo began playing for the club's reserve team in 2012 and was promoted to the first team two years later. He was subsequently loaned to La Liga club Valencia during the 2014–15 season, before the move was made permanent in 2015. Cancelo was on loan to Serie A team Inter Milan during the 2017–18 season, in which he was included in Serie A's Team of the Year. Cancelo's performances sparked the interest of Italian rivals Juventus, who signed him in 2018 for a reported fee of €40.4 million. During his stint with Juventus, Cancelo won the league and the Supercoppa Italiana in his first and only season. In 2019, Cancelo was signed by English club Manchester City. He went on to win three Premier League titles and the EFL Cup with the club. In the 2020–21 season, he played a significant role in Manchester City reaching their first UEFA Champions League final. Over the following seasons, Cancelo was loaned to Bayern Munich, winning a Bundesliga title, and Barcelona, before signing for Al-Hilal in 2024. Cancelo made his senior debut for Portugal in 2016 after previously being capped by the nations's all youth team levels, winning 75 caps and scoring three goals overall. He was also part of Portugal's under-21 team that reached the 2015 UEFA European Championship final. He was chosen in Portugal's squad for the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals on home soil, winning the inaugural edition of the competition with his nation.