João Cancelo

Biography

João Pedro Cavaco Cancelo (born 27 May 1994) is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a right back for Spanish club Valencia CF and the Portugal national team.

Personal life

In January 2013, Cancelo was involved in a car accident which killed his mother. He received only minor injuries.

Club career

Benfica

Born in Barreiro, Setúbal District, Cancelo started playing football with local Barreirense. He joined Benfica’s youth system in 2007 at the age of 13, where he played as both right and left back.

On 28 July 2012, Cancelo made his debut with Benfica’s first team in a friendly against Gil Vicente where he played the full 90 minutes as a right back. Despite being registered with the B-side, he was touted as a possible replacement to Maxi Pereira in the seniors; until 2013 he also represented the juniors, and on 18 May of that year he scored the two decisive goals in a 2–1 win over Rio Ave to win the national championship.

Cancelo played his first competitive game with Benfica’s main squad on 25 January 2014, coming on as a late substitute in the 1–0 home success against Gil Vicente for the Taça da Liga, which was later won. His maiden appearance in the Primeira Liga occurred on 10 May after they had already been crowned league champions, and he started in a 1–2 loss at Porto.

Valencia

On 20 August 2014, Cancelo joined Valencia on a one-year loan deal. His La Liga debut occurred on 25 September, playing the entirety of a 3–0 home win over Córdoba; he finished his first season with 13 matches, across all competitions.

On 25 May 2015, Cancelo agreed to a permanent contract with the Spanish club until 30 June 2021 for a transfer fee of €15 million. He scored his first goal for the Cheon 16 September in their UEFA Champions League opener, a 2–3 home loss to Zenit Saint Petersburg, and netted for the first time in the league the following 20 April to conclude a 4–0 win over Eibar also at the Mestalla Stadium.

Inter Milan

On 22 August 2017, Cancelo joined Inter Milan on a one-year loan deal until 30 June 2018 with the option of making the move permanent. The deal was part of a loan exchange, with Geoffrey Kondogbia moving in the other direction. He made his Serie A debut four days later, replacing Antonio Candreva in the 83rd minute of a 3–1 success at Roma.

Cancelo suffered a knee ligament injury in late August 2017 while on international duty, going on to be sidelined for one-and-a-half months. He returned to action during the 3–2 home victory over A.C. Milan in the Derby della Madonnina, featuring 20 minutes.

Juventus

On 27 June 2018, Cancelo was signed by Juventus on a five-year contract for €40.4 million, making his domestic league debut on 18 August in a 3–2 away win against ChievoVerona. He won his first trophy with the club in January 2019, featuring the entire 1–0 victory over Milan for the Supercoppa Italiana. He scored his first league goal the same month, as his team came from behind to defeat Lazio 2–1 at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome; he also helped win the decisive match-winning penalty later during the same game, which was subsequently converted by compatriot Cristiano Ronaldo.

On 20 April 2019, Cancelo played in the Scudetto-clinching match against rivals Fiorentina, as Juventus won their eighth successive league title after a 2–1 home triumph.

National career

Cancelo represented Portugal in the 2012 UEFA European Under-19 Championship. He was also selected for the following edition, in Lithuania.

With the under-20s, Cancelo appeared at the 2013 FIFA World Cup and the 2014 Toulon Tournament. He featured in two games in the former competition, with the country reaching the round-of-16.

Cancelo was part of the under-21 squad that competed in the 2015 European Championships. He replaced left-back Raphaël Guerreiro midway through the second half of the 5–0 semi-final win against Germany for his only appearance of the tournament, in a final runner-up finish to Sweden.

Cancelo was called up for the first time to the senior team by head coach Fernando Santos on 26 August 2016, playing the full 90 minutes of a 5–0 friendly win over Gibraltar in Porto on 1 September and scoring the third goal. In the following month he added another two, in as many 2018 FIFA World Cup qualifiers against Andorra (6–0, home) and Faroe Islands (away, same score).

In May 2018, Cancelo was included in a preliminary 35-man squad for the finals in Russia, but he did not make the final cut.