‘Know why Pep doesn’t like him’ – Ex-Barcelona star takes aim at João Cancelo | OneFootball

A former member of the defensive ranks at La Liga giants Barcelona on Sunday night made crystal clear his frustrations with the exploits of current Blaugrana star João Cancelo.

As much comes owing to the Portuguese international’s performance against Real Madrid.

Cancelo, of course, endured another outing to forget yesterday evening.

En route to his side’s 3-2 defeat at the hands of arch rivals Real, the 29-year-old’s defensive deficiencies were laid bare for all to see once again.

After giving away a needless penalty in midweek against Paris Saint-Germain, Cancelo was responsible for losing track of Lucas Vázquez en route to a spot-kick going against his side in El Clásico.

Not only that, but, on Barcelona’s way to surrendering the lead for the 2nd time at the Santiago Bernabéu, the on-loan Manchester City man again lost sight of Vázquez, who took full advantage to slot home at the back post.

Post-match, in turn, Cancelo has been singled out for widespread criticism, on the part of fans, pundits, and the media alike.

And, as alluded to above, a short time ago, such individuals were joined by a player to have previously plied his trade in the defensive setup at the Camp Nou.

Speaking on Dutch TV, Frank de Boer accused Cancelo of forgetting his primary role – to defend:

“Now I know why Pep doesn’t like Cancelo. This man plays his own football and thinks it’s only about what you do with the ball. Damn, you’re a defender!”

Fellow Dutch icon Marco van Basten then added:

“It’s insane how Cancelo still makes the same mistakes at his age.”

Conor Laird | GSFN