Barcelona may sign top defender

According to journalist Fabrizio Romano on his Twitter, FC Barcelona is showing interest in Manchester City and Portuguese national team defender João Cancelo.

The Catalan club is considering the possibility of acquiring the player during the summer transfer window, with strong insistence from their head coach, Xavi. It is reported that Barcelona has already reached an agreement with the player on personal contract terms.

João Cancelo, 29 years old, has been playing for Manchester City since the summer of 2019. He transferred to the English club from Juventus for a fee of 65 million euros. In total, the Portuguese defender has played 154 matches for Manchester City in all competitions, scoring nine goals and providing 22 assists. With Manchester City, Cancelo won the Premier League three times in the seasons 2020/2021, 2021/2022, and 2022/2023, the FA Cup once in the 2022/2023 season, the EFL Cup once in the 2020/2021 season, and the UEFA Champions League in the 2022/2023 season.

In the second half of the previous season, Cancelo played for Bayern Munich on loan. He featured in 21 matches for the German club, scoring one goal and providing six assists. With Bayern Munich, he became a champion of Germany.

João Cancelo has been representing the Portuguese national team since 2016. He has played 44 matches for the national team, scoring eight goals and providing six assists. He has also received seven yellow cards and one red card.