Joao Cancelo reveals plan to 'explode' at Barcelona

Joao Cancelo intends "to do everything to explode at Barcelona" after joining the club on loan from Manchester City.

The 29-year-old secured a move to Catalonia on deadline day, and is looking to get his career back on track after a disappointing spell at Bayern Munich during the second half of last season.

Cancelo is expected to see a significant uptick in minutes after joining Barca, and has already made his debut for the club - coming off the bench in the 2-1 win over Osasuna.

Speaking on international duty with Portugal during an interview with SPORT, Cancelo revealed he intends to make a big impression at Barcelona after fulfilling his childhood dream of playing for the club.

"Whether in Montjuic or wherever, I always want to play with the Barca shirt, and show the fans and the people who believed in me, how difficult it was to get to Barca," Cancelo remarked. "I want to achieve great things with this club because it is where I always dreamed of being. It’s my dream club, all my friends know it: all my idols played for Barca.

"I’m going to do everything to explode at Barca. I’ll try to show my football, my quality, but always with the help of the team, because I need it and I think we have a lot of quality in the squad. Hopefully it will be a great season."

Cancelo also reserved special praise for manager Xavi as well as his Barcelona team-mates, revealing the freedom the legendary Spaniard gives him in terms of positioning in addition to the special bond formed between the players.

"It is a very young team. I already knew some of them, like Ferran Torres or Ilkay Gundogan," he continued. "They all welcomed me very well, they are spectacular guys. We can only achieve great things by forming a great group.

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"The coach [Xavi] gives me a little freedom and I like that. I feel comfortable playing inside but also outside. I will adapt to everything he asks of me."

Cancelo was previously an integral part of Pep Guardiola's all-conquering Manchester City side, winning three Premier League titles before falling out of favour towards the back end of 2022.

He also lifted the Bundesliga title with Bayern during his loan spell, and scooped up a Champions League winners medal with City after playing for the club in the group stages of last season's competition.

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