Ever since his move to FC Barcelona on the final day of the last summer transfer window, Joao Cancelo has been able to make himself a key part of the Catalan club’s squad.
As he is at Barcelona only on a loan, his future at the club is highly uncertain at the moment. Both Barcelona and the player himself want to retain their association beyond this season, but Manchester City might ask for a price that might be out of the Blaugranes’ reach, which can make things difficult.
Still, this loan has allowed Cancelo to experience the Catalan club from within, and as Mundo Deportivo has reported, he shared his opinion on the different things being experienced by the club in an interview with A Bola.
Talking about the upcoming UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie against Paris Saint Germain, Cancelo was clear that Barcelona will try to win this match by playing their own game:
“In the Champions League, all teams are strong. PSG is a team with great players and a great coach whom I appreciate a lot. It will be a very difficult match, but we will try. We are Barcelona, and we will try to play our game and aim for the win.”
The fullback also shared that he was dreaming of winning the Champions League with Barcelona, and this was a dream that he has had for some time now:
“Since I arrived here, it has always been a dream. This club has won five Champions Leagues, the last one in 2015. Let’s dream, we have every right to do so. We are a young team, but with a lot of potential, and I believe we are on the right path.”
“A lot will depend on our matches from now on, how we approach each one of them, even in the league. I have the feeling that it could go well.”
The defender admitted that the demands at Barcelona were very high, but the youngsters at the club were prepared to face the challenges awaiting them:
“I feel that Barcelona is a very mentally challenging club to play for. The fans are very demanding, even considering the previous teams it had, and you can see why there is so much demand, and that is good for them.”
“Lamine, Cubarsí, Fermin, Marc Guiu, Héctor… are players who have been training with us since the beginning of the season and are more than prepared to face these challenges.”
When asked whether the team was playing with more ease since Xavi’s announcement of leaving the club at the end of the season, Cancelo commented:
“I don’t see it that way, especially because the coach has always been a very fair person with us. I think if he’s not the one who loves the club the most on our team, he’ll be one of the ones who loves it the most. He’s a Barcelona legend, and sometimes people forget what he did to be here.”
“He faced the challenge of the club when it wasn’t in the best economic or player level, and that’s worthy of praise. Not only when you win you have to give value. As a player, I valued him a lot, and now that I have the pleasure of having him as a coach, I appreciate him even more.”
“Xavi gave us that relief because he himself wanted to sacrifice himself so that the team could loosen up more.”
Talking about himself, the defender shared some of his life experiences that have prepared him to take on the challenge of playing for a club as demanding as Barcelona:
“I have a very strong mentality, especially because personally, I’ve been through a lot, and I’ve always looked at life positively. I’ve gone through worse moments in my personal life than in my sports life. Pressure affects some more than others. It doesn’t affect me much because I’ve created a barrier.”
“From the moment I lost my mother, I was forced to grow up much faster, to be much more mature, to be the leader of my family. Not everyone is like that. Barcelona is a tough club, but it’s the club of my career where I enjoy the most, I always wanted to be here.”
