I came here to win the Champions League
Cancelo wants shot at Euro top spot with City
JOAO CANCELO is determined to grab his chance at Manchester City – which is bad news for Kyle Walker.
The Portugal full-back, 25, has had to bide his time since a £60m switch from Juventus in the summer.
He made his full debut against Preston in the Carabao Cup at the end of last month and has started the last three games.
And Cancelo, who is expected to continue against Atalanta tonight as Walker completes his recovery from a stomach virus, is strengthening his claims to be City’s No.1 right-back.
He said: “I came here to learn. Pep Guardiola, I think, is the best manager in today’s football.
“It’s true it took me some time to learn, but what’s important is that the club wins. I was happy to wait for my moment and when I finally had an opportunity to play, I did that and the team won.”
Guardiola admired Cancelo for months before City signed him and believes he can compete with Walker.
The ex-Spurs man, who returned to training on Sunday, lost his place in the England squad to Aaron WanBissaka in August and now faces a fight to regain his City spot.
Cancelo, 25, says he will continue to develop under Guardiola and has no doubts City can win the Champions League with the Catalan.
“I came here to learn from him and I think when I play for him I always learn something,” said the former Inter Milan, Valencia and Benfica defender.
“That’s exactly what I am doing. My aim has been to win the Champions League since I was a child. I came here to try and achieve that.
“Juventus also wants to win but I came here because this is my type of football. Manchester City is one of the teams that can win the Champions League, no doubt about it. We definitely can win it. The same can be said of Juventus, Real Madrid and Barcelona.”
Cancelo knows what it is like to play for a club expected to win the Champions League from his one campaign with Juventus last season.
Juve lost in the quarter-finals to Ajax and he says it is not guaranteed City will win the big prize.
He added: “It’s not compulsory to win the Champions League. Nobody can have absolute certainty.
“Both Juventus and Manchester City have a lot of quality players and both want to win, but nobody can guarantee a win.”