João Cancelo

Club Career

João Cancelo is a Portuguese defender whose career has taken him through several of Europe’s biggest clubs. He began in his hometown of Barreiro before joining Benfica’s youth system. FC Barcelona’s official profile states that he made his first-team debut for Benfica in the 2013/14 season before moving abroad, and it also notes that he has already won league titles in Portugal, Italy, and England. The next major stage of his career came at Valencia. He first joined on loan, and the move later became permanent. Official material from Manchester City and Juventus confirms that his performances in Spain convinced Valencia to sign him definitively, and over the following seasons he became an important player for the club. After Spain, Cancelo moved to Italy. He spent the 2017/18 season on loan at Inter, where Juventus state that he played 26 Serie A matches. In the summer of 2018, Juventus officially announced his permanent signing from Valencia. He quickly established himself in Turin and won both Serie A and the Supercoppa Italiana in the 2018/19 season. In August 2019, Cancelo joined Manchester City. The English club officially confirmed the signing, and later highlighted the trophies he won during his time there. According to Barcelona’s official player profile, he then spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Bayern Munich, followed by a loan spell at FC Barcelona in 2023/24. After his first spell in Catalonia, Cancelo continued his career at Al Hilal. The Saudi club officially announced his transfer from Manchester City on a three-year contract. Barcelona later confirmed that, after a season and a half in Saudi Arabia, he returned to Barça on loan for the second half of the 2025/26 season. The club also notes that he became the first player in Barça history to join the team twice on loan.