With a brilliant performance against Porto in the Champions League for Barcelona, Joao Cancelo reportedly astounded his teammates as well.
According to Diario AS, the players’ locker room believes he is a “competitive animal” who is unaffected by pressure or criticism.
The coaches at Barcelona have also been impressed. The technicians reportedly remarked, “He is a true athlete; he never gets tired.”
Right now, the statistics most definitely support that. For his club and nation, Cancelo has started the past eighteen games in a row.
Given the loss of Gavi, supporters will be hoping those numbers do not raise any red flags. Cancelo did take a knock against Porto, but he quickly dismissed it afterward.
However, prior to the Porto game, he also stated that he does not want to read any bad news.
“We have very young players, but I am a veteran and I am more of an adult, so the criticism from the press does not affect me personally,” he stated.
“We can only accomplish great things when we have the ability to handle pressure.”
Cancelo has a reputation for being a challenging guy, which may have been heightened by the fact that he was let go by both Manchester City and Bayern.
Although there might be some merit to that, it is also evident that, in the right circumstances, he can be an incredible football player, and his mindset might be exactly what Barca needs.