João Cancelo, who is on loan to FC Barcelona from Manchester City, has revealed that his national team colleague Pepe tried to convince him to join Real Madrid.
“Pepe said that I was a player for Madrid, but I told him that I am a Barça fan,” Cancelo said.
Pepe played 10 years for Real Madrid and has represented the Portuguese national team alongside Cancelo for a long time.
“I am delighted to be at Barcelona, it is the club I always wanted to be at. After Benfica, it is the club that I have always liked,” Cancelo said.
He also revealed his opinions on his national team coach, Roberto Martínez: “He is a modern coach, he likes an offensive team. He gives us a lot of freedom. He knows each player perfectly. He learned Portuguese very quickly and tried to speak Portuguese with us... He won over the group, it was important.”
Another topic of discussion was Cristiano Ronaldo.
“He is an important player, but the peak of a player is between 25 and 32 years old. We do not depend on him,” Cancelo said.