João Cancelo
- This is a Portuguese name; the first family name is Cavaco and the second is Cancelo.
João Pedro Cavaco Cancelo (born 27 May 1994) is a Portuguese football player. He plays as either a right back, left back, or right winger for Barcelona on loan from Manchester City, and the Portugal national team.
 Cancelo playing for Manchester City in 2023 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | João Pedro Cavaco Cancelo[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Date of birth | 27 May 1994[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Barreiro, Portugal | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.82 m (6 ft 0 in)[2] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Position(s) | Full-back[3] | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club information | ||||||||||||||||||||
Current team | Barcelona (on loan from Manchester City) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Number | 2 | |||||||||||||||||||
| Youth career | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2002–2007 | Barreirense | |||||||||||||||||||
| 2007–2012 | Benfica | |||||||||||||||||||
| Senior career* | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2014 | Benfica B | 51 | (3) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | Benfica | 1 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2015 | → Valencia (loan) | 10 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2015–2018 | Valencia | 64 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2017–2018 | → Inter Milan (loan) | 26 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2018–2019 | Juventus | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2019– | Manchester City | 98 | (5) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023 | → Bayern Munich (loan) | 15 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2023– | → Barcelona (loan) | 24 | (2) | |||||||||||||||||
| National team‡ | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 2010 | Portugal U16 | 6 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2010–2011 | Portugal U17 | 17 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2011–2012 | Portugal U18 | 7 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2012–2013 | Portugal U19 | 25 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2013–2014 | Portugal U20 | 9 | (0) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2014–2017 | Portugal U21 | 11 | (1) | |||||||||||||||||
| 2016– | Portugal | 51 | (10) | |||||||||||||||||
Honours
| ||||||||||||||||||||
| * Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 22:10, 8 March 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 22:59, 26 March 2024 (UTC) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Club career
Benfica
Cancelo was born in Barreiro, which is a city in the District of Setúbal. He joined SL Benfica's youth academy in 2007.
He made his debut for Benfica on July 28, 2012. The match was a friendly match against Gil Vicente.[4] Despite being registered with the reserve team, he was talked about as a possible replacement to Maxi Pereira.[5] He made his professional debut on January 25, 2014. The match was a Taça da Liga 3rd round match against Gil Vicente, where he came on as a substitute for André Almeida in the 82nd minute.[6] His only league match for Benfica was a 2-1 loss against FC Porto. [7]
Valencia
Cancelo joined Valencia on August 20, 2014 on a one year loan, with an option to buy for €15 million.[8] He made his La Liga debut on September 25 2014, in a 3-0 win against Córdoba.[9] He was awarded the man of the match on April 12, 2015, after a 3-0 win against Levante.[10][11] He only made 13 appearances in the 2014-15 season, as he was mainly the backup of Antonio Barragán. On May 25, Cancelo agreed a permanant contract with Valencia until June 30, 2021. The transfer fee was €15 million.[12][13][14][15]
On September 16, 2015, Cancelo made his UEFA Champions League debut. The match was a 3-2 loss against Zenit Saint Petersburg, where he scored 1 goal. The goal made him the 5th youngest Champions League scorer, aged 21 years and 107 days old. [16] On April 20, 2016, he would score his first league goal for Valenica. The match was a 4-0 win against Eibar.
Loan to Inter Milan
On August 22, 2017, Cancelo joined Inter Milan on a one-year loan until June 30, 2018, with an option to make the transfer permanent.[17] The deal also saw Geoffrey Kondogbia join Valencia on loan.[18] He made his Serie A debut on August 26, 2017 in a 3-1 win against AS Roma.[19] He would suffer a knee ligament injury in late August 2017, while on international duty.[20] His first game back from injury was a 3-2 win on October 15, 2018 against AC Milan.[21]He was a member of the 2017-18 Serie A Team of the Year[22][23][24] After the season, Inter Milan decided to not make the loan permanent.[25]
Juventus
On June 27, 2018, Juventus signed João Cancelo on a 5-year contract for €40.4 million.[26] He made his Juventus debut on August 18, in a 3-2 win against ChievoVerona.[27] He won his first trophy with Juventus on January 16, 2019, when Juventus beat AC Milan 1-0 in the 2018 Supercoppa Italiana.[28][29][30] He would play in the Scudetto-winning match, where Juventus won 2-1 against Fiorentina.[31]
Manchester City
On 7 August 2019, Cancelo joined English Premier League champions Manchester City. The deal was a six-year deal worth £27.4 million, with Danilo joining Juventus as part of the deal, equalling to £60 million. This made João Cancelo the most expensive right-back ever.[32][33] He made his Premier League debut on August 25, 2019 in a 3-1 win against Bournemouth, where he came on as a substitute for Kyle Walker. He scored his first goal for Manchester City on December 18, 2019, in a 3–1 win against Oxford United in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.[34]
He made his first start of the 2020-21 season on October 17, 2020 due to injury.The match was a 1–0 win against Arsenal. On November 3, 2020, Cancelo scored his first Champions League goal for Manchester City in a 3–0 win against Greek team Olympiacos.[35] His first league goal of the season happened on January 26, 2021. In that match, Cancelo scored the 2nd goal in a 5–0 win against West Bromwich Albion.[36] He was named in the 2020-21 PFA Team of the Year.[37][38]
On October 17, 2021, Cancelo scored his first goal of the season for Manchester City. The goal was scored in a 6–3 win against RB Leipzig in the UEFA Champions League group stage.[39] On November 3rd, Cancelo provided a hat-trick of assists in a 4–1 win against Club Brugge in the Champions League group stage.[40]
International career
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Cancelo represented Portugal at the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship[41] and at the 2013 UEFA European Under-19 Championship in Lithuania.[42]
With the Portugal under-20s, Cancelo appeared at the 2013 FIFA U-20 World Cup and at the 2014 Toulon Tournament.[43]
Cancelo was part of the Portugal under-21 squad that played in the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship. His only appearance in the tournament was as a substitute for Raphaël Guerreiro in the semi-finals. The match was a 5-0 win against Germany.[44]
Cancelo was called up to the Portugal national team for the first time on August 26, 2016.[45] In his first mach for Portugal, he scored the 3rd goal in a 5-0 friendly win against Gibraltar.[46] In May 2018, Cancelo was included in the preliminary 35-man squad for the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia,[47] but he did not make the final team.[48]
On May 20, 2021, it was confirmed that Cancelo was selected for Portugual's Euro 2020 squad.[49] However, he had to withdraw due to testing positive for COVID-19.[50]
Career statistics
Club
- As of match played 10 April 2024
| Club | Season | League | National cup[a] | League cup[b] | Europe | Other | Total | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Benfica B | 2012–13[51] | Segunda Liga | 20 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 20 | 2 | ||||
| 2013–14[51] | Segunda Liga | 31 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 31 | 1 | |||||
| Total | 51 | 3 | — | — | — | — | 51 | 3 | ||||||
| Benfica | 2013–14[51] | Primeira Liga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 0 | |
| Valencia (loan) | 2014–15[51] | La Liga | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 13 | 0 | |||
| Valencia | 2015–16[51] | La Liga | 28 | 1 | 4 | 1 | — | 7[c] | 1 | — | 39 | 3 | ||
| 2016–17[51] | La Liga | 35 | 1 | 3 | 0 | — | — | — | 38 | 1 | ||||
| 2017–18[51] | La Liga | 1 | 0 | — | — | — | — | 1 | 0 | |||||
| Total | 74 | 2 | 10 | 1 | — | 7 | 1 | — | 91 | 4 | ||||
| Inter Milan (loan) | 2017–18[51] | Serie A | 26 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | — | — | 28 | 1 | |||
| Juventus | 2018–19[51] | Serie A | 25 | 1 | 1 | 0 | — | 7[d] | 0 | 1[e] | 0 | 34 | 1 | |
| Manchester City | 2019–20[52] | Premier League | 17 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 8[d] | 0 | — | 33 | 1 | |
| 2020–21[53] | Premier League | 28 | 2 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9[d] | 1 | — | 43 | 3 | ||
| 2021–22[54] | Premier League | 36 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9[d] | 2 | 1[f] | 0 | 52 | 3 | |
| 2022–23[55] | Premier League | 17 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 6[d] | 0 | 1[f] | 0 | 26 | 2 | |
| Total | 98 | 5 | 13 | 0 | 9 | 1 | 32 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 154 | 9 | ||
| Bayern Munich (loan) | 2022–23[51] | Bundesliga | 15 | 1 | 2 | 0 | — | 4[d] | 0 | — | 21 | 1 | ||
| Barcelona (loan) | 2023–24[51] | La Liga | 25 | 2 | 0 | 0 | — | 9[d] | 2 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 | |
| Career total | 316 | 15 | 28 | 1 | 10 | 1 | 59 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 414 | 23 | ||
International
- As of match played 26 March 2024[56]
| National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| Portugal | 2016 | 4 | 3 |
| 2017 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018 | 6 | 0 | |
| 2019 | 4 | 0 | |
| 2020 | 7 | 1 | |
| 2021 | 8 | 1 | |
| 2022 | 10 | 2 | |
| 2023 | 9 | 3 | |
| 2024 | 1 | 0 | |
| Total | 51 | 10 | |
- As of match played 26 March 2024
- Portugal score listed first, score column indicates score after each Cancelo goal.[56]
| No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 September 2016 | Estádio do Bessa, Porto, Portugal | 1 |  Gibraltar | 3–0 | 5–0 | Friendly | [57] |
| 2 | 7 October 2016 | Estádio Municipal de Aveiro, Aveiro, Portugal | 2 |  Andorra | 3–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | [58] |
| 3 | 10 October 2016 | Tórsvøllur, Tórshavn, Faroe Islands | 3 |  Faroe Islands | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | [59] |
| 4 | 5 September 2020 | Estádio do Dragão, Porto, Portugal | 16 |  Croatia | 1–0 | 4–1 | 2020–21 UEFA Nations League A | [60] |
| 5 | 9 June 2021 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | 26 |  Israel | 3–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [61] |
| 6 | 5 June 2022 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | 33 |  Switzerland | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A | [62] |
| 7 | 9 June 2022 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | 34 |  Czech Republic | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2022–23 UEFA Nations League A | [63] |
| 8 | 23 March 2023 | Estádio José Alvalade, Lisbon, Portugal | 41 |  Liechtenstein | 1–0 | 4–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [64] |
| 9 | 16 October 2023 | Bilino Polje Stadium, Zenica Bosnia and Herzegovina | 48 |  Bosnia and Herzegovina | 4–0 | 5–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [65] |
| 10 | 16 November 2023 | Rheinpark Stadion, Vaduz, Liechtenstein | 49 | Liechtenstein | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2024 qualifying | [66] |
Honours
Benfica
- Primeira Liga: 2013–14[7]
Juventus
Manchester City
- Premier League: 2020–21, 2021–22, 2022–23[2]
- EFL Cup: 2020–21[70]
- UEFA Champions League runner-up: 2020–21[71]
Bayern Munich
Portugal U21
- UEFA European Under-21 Championship runner-up: 2015[73]
Portugal
Individual
- Serie A Team of the Year: 2017–18,[75] 2018–19[76]
- PFA Premier League Team of the Year: 2020–21,[77] 2021–22[78]
- ESM Team of the Year: 2020–21,[79] 2021–22[80]
- UEFA Champions League Fantasy Football Team of the Season: 2021–22[81]
- FIFA FIFPRO World 11: 2022[82]
- La Liga Goal of the Month: September 2023[83]
References
Other websites
- Valencia official profile Archived 2019-08-07 at the Wayback Machine
- João Cancelo at BDFutbol
- National team data (in Portuguese)
- João Cancelo at National-Football-Teams.com
- João Cancelo – FIFA competition record (archived)
- João Cancelo – UEFA competition record (archive)
