After spending the second half of the last season with FC Barcelona, the Portuguese fullback Joao Cancelo is once again at the disposal of Hansi Flick. He terminated his contract with Al-Hilal to sign permanently for the Catalans.
After spending a few weeks getting up to speed with the rest of his teammates, the defender returned to Flick’s starting lineup for the UEFA Champions League match against Feyenoord. He put in a solid performance in that match, and helped his team get a 5-1 win.
As [SPORT](https://www.sport.es/es/noticias/barca/cancelo-claro-lamine-yamal-unico-134154456) has noted, Cancelo also talked to the media after this match and highlighted how important it was to win this game:
**“It was a necessary victory; we had to get off to a good start. We wanted to start well because we know that the more points we get, the further we will go. We played a great game—the defense, midfield and attack—and we deserved the victory.”**
The fullback was looking forward to winning the UCL with Barcelona:
**“It is always special to play on the pitch for Barça, even more so in this competition, because I have the ambition to win it with Barça.”**
The Portuguese defender also highlighted how he fought for a move to the Blaugrana club:
**“I’m at the club where I have always wanted to play. I still had a year left on my contract with Al-Hilal. I said, ‘Either I stay there and receive my full salary, or I’m not going anywhere else. Either Barça or I’m not going to any other club.’”**
Cancelo was quite clear about who deserves to win the Ballon d’Or this year:
**“The only player who deserves to win the Ballon d’Or is Lamine Yamal. He has won so many trophies at 19—World Cup, European Championship, all the trophies with Barça… His season was incredible and he is by far the best talent and the best player in the world. For me, there is no other player who can win the Ballon d’Or. It has to be Lamine.”**
Thus, [Joao Cancelo joins Flick](https://barcanewsnetwork.com/hansi-flick-talks-lamine-yamal-raphinha-ballon-dor-after-barcelona-5-1-feyenoord/), Deco, and other individuals associated with Barcelona who have asked for the Ballon d’Or to be given to Lamine Yamal. For now, it remains to be seen who will land this award this year, but there is no doubt that the Blaugrana star would be one of the favorites to win it.