Portuguese star Joao Cancelo is close to achieving a very rare record in the world of football.
If he, as expected, helps Barcelona win the La Liga title, he would secure his fourth championship in one of Europe’s top five leagues. No other player has achieved this before.
The right-back has won championship titles in the Premier League (with Manchester City in the 2020/21 and 2021/22 seasons), the Bundesliga (with Bayern Munich in 2022/23) and Serie A (with Juventus in 2018/19).
He also won the Portuguese championship with Benfica in 2014, lifted the Champions League trophy with City in 2023 and helped Portugal win the Nations League in 2019.
Big stars like Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Arjen Robben and Kingsley Coman have previously won championships in three of Europe’s top five leagues. Like Cancelo, the latter two were part of the Bavarian club.
The 31-year-old is expected to leave them behind soon, as Barca are well on their way to securing the LaLiga title early.
After 33 weeks out of 38, Hansi Flick’s team has a comfortable nine-point lead over closest challenger Real Madrid.
The title race could even be over this weekend: if Barcelona win away to Osasuna on Saturday and Real lose to local rivals Espanyol on Sunday, then the Blaugrana’s title defence and Cancelo’s individual record will be assured.
However, the most realistic scenario is for Barcelona to formalize the title a week later, on May 10, in ‘El Clasico’ against Real Madrid.
