João Cancelo Could Make History with Barcelona
Experienced Portuguese defender João Cancelo is making a serious effort to fulfill his desire to return to Barcelona once again. According to reports from the past few hours, the possibility of the player joining the Catalan club is growing, and the transfer is expected to become a unique event not only for the team but for football history as a whole. Goal.com reports .
According to Mundo Deportivo, if the transfer goes through, it would be João Cancelo’s third separate spell with Barcelona. During the summer break, the defender was forced to temporarily return to his current club, Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal, but his desire to move back to Spain has intensified in recent days.
Rare Occurrences in Barcelona’s History
Barcelona have seen many famous players leave the club and later return, but most of them represented the team in only two separate spells. For example, legendary forward Hristo Stoichkov joined Parma in 1995 before returning to Catalonia in 1996. Dani Alves also terminated his contract with São Paulo and returned to Camp Nou during the second half of the 2021/22 season.Ivan de la Peña is another player in this group. He joined Lazio in 1998 and returned to Barcelona on loan during the 2000/01 season. Academy graduates Eric García, Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba also left the club at different stages before later returning to their boyhood team at professional level.
Similar Examples in World Football
Making three separate appearances for the same team is an extremely rare occurrence in world football. The careers of the following well-known players can be included among such unusual examples:- Carlos Tévez — Boca Juniors
- Adriano Leite — Flamengo
- Nuri Şahin — Borussia Dortmund
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