Cancelo: "For Inter, I accepted the challenge straight away"

APPIANO GENTILE – Following on from Henrique Dalbert, it was time for Joao Cancelo to respond live to fans on the club’s Portuguese Twitter account.

“I’m here to learn, to help my teammates and the club to reach our set objectives,” he said. “I want to put myself to the test in a new league. Serie A is very competitive, there are a lot of great teams and it’s a very difficult competition physically and tactically. I hadn’t spoken with Spalletti before coming here but there was no need. He’s a great coach who is famous around the world and I can learn a lot from him, for my defending also. I’m sure that playing at San Siro will be a special experience in a special stadium.”

Negotiations to bring Cancelo to Milan progressed quickly as the player explained: “It all happened very fast. Once I heard it was Inter, I accepted the challenge straight away. It’s one of the most prestigious clubs in Europe and it’s a great responsibility to play for such a club.”

He also offered his reasoning into why he has chosen to wear the no.7 shirt. “I know that Figo used to wear it here and he’s one of the greatest Portuguese players but I don’t want to imitate anybody. I took the no.7 because it’s my mother’s birthday and I owe her a lot. I’m very close to my family.”

Discussions also turned to Cancelo’s preferred position on the pitch. “I can play higher up but I prefer to be selected as a full-back. When I arrived at Benfica aged 13, I was a winger but then I dropped back.”

Finally, there was talk of what he likes to do in his free time. “I like to spend time with my girlfriend and my dogs who are almost like children to me. I follow tennis and futsal. I love Italian food and pasta. I don’t have a favourite genre of music but I listen to hip hop and R&B. I’m on Facebook and Instagram.”