Barcelona defender picks Ronaldo over Messi in his dream five-a-side team

Joao Cancelo joined Barcelona in the summer as a reinforcement for the right-back position and began the season as a potent force on the flank.

Alejandro Balde’s injury, however, forced him to start playing at left-back and the trend has continued throughout the season.

Since arriving on loan, the 29-year-old has scored two goals and provided three assists for the Catalans in 26 league appearances while also averaging 1.2 key passes per game.

His impressive displays in the Blaugrana colours have prompted the board to start working towards extending his loan or making his signing permanent.

Nothing, however, has been finalised yet.

Cancelo’s controversial pick

Speaking to FIFPRO in a recent interview, the Barcelona star was asked to pick his dream five-man team in football. Of all of Cancelo’s picks, one caught the headlines like none other.

In goal, the Portuguese full-back opted for Manchester City’s Ederson for his ball-playing ability. He then chose his compatriot Ruben Dias to take over the defensive duties in his dream team stating that his leadership was unparalleled.

In midfield, Cancelo picked Bernardo Silva, his compatriot, and Barcelona legend Ronaldinho as the ideal members for his team. The former, he said, has exceptional work rate and creativity while he called the latter his favourite player of all time.

Cancelo chose Ronaldo over Messi in his Dream 5-a-side team. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)

The pick that took the internet by storm, however, was the Barcelona player’s decision to choose Cristiano Ronaldo over Lionel Messi in the final third.

In his defence, however, he did elaborate that he chose the former Real Madrid star for being a legend in his country and inspiring generations.

Under pressure

While Cancelo’s tenure at Barcelona has been largely impressive, the defender has come under extensive scrutiny over the past week for his questionable performances against PSG and Real Madrid.

The on-loan star was very poor in the game against Luis Enrique’s side, even giving away a silly penalty through an unwarranted challenge after Barcelona went down to ten men.

If his struggles against Achraf Hakimi were not enough, Lucas Vazquez ran over him on the flank in El Clasico, virtually winning the game single-handedly for Real Madrid.

All eyes will thus be on Cancelo in the coming weeks to see how he recovers from the slump in form. After all, his continuity at the club next season is still not guaranteed.