FC Barcelona had one of their most disappointing matches against Paris Saint Germain in the second leg of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals in which they crashed out of the competition because of the 6-4 aggregate win for the French side.
Barcelona had put themselves in the pole position to advance to the next round, as they enjoyed a two-goal lead against the Parisian in the tie. However, the red card to Ronald Araujo changed everything as PSG made their numerical advantage count and had scored four past the Catalans by the end of the game.
Thus, the Uruguayan has received most of the criticism for the team’s elimination from the competition. However, he was not the only player who left a lot to be desired with his performance. Another player who was well below his expected standards on the night was Joao Cancelo, whose errors also led to two goals against Barcelona.
As a result, the fanbase has not been kind to the Portuguese international after the match, but as the player himself disclosed, things have gone a bit too far this time. As SPORT has reported, the fullback mentioned how he has been receiving threats and even his family has not been spared as he talked to ESPN:
“I’ve been told everything. There are comments on Instagram wishing death upon my unborn daughter. They wouldn’t say that to my face, for sure, because we would have problems, but they say anything in comments.”
“They offend my wife, my unborn daughter, my baby. Today the world is cruel, and you have to know how to live with that. Wishing death upon a baby is a very serious matter. They can criticize me as a player, as Ferdinand did, but they shouldn’t talk about my family. They should talk about me as a player, not as a person.”
Threats and bad wishes for someone’s family and welfare beyond the pitch are simply unacceptable, and this is a line that should never be crossed. But beyond that, Cancelo agreed that he did not had a good match, and deserved the criticism that was coming his way:
“I made a childish penalty, but given the circumstances of the game, my mindset, I accept the criticism. That night I didn’t sleep. I couldn’t because we had the hope of going far. In the end, when you don’t win, personally I have a lot of difficulty sleeping because I feel like I didn’t do my job well.”
“It was a strange game, and how we lost was what kept me awake. The way we lost. I feel like eleven against eleven we could have won.”
It is good to see a player accepting his mistake and hopefully, Cancelo will be able to move on from that forgettable night and get back to his best this week as Barcelona face their fiercest rivals Real Madrid in a match that can decide the current La Liga season.
