Speaking in an interview with ESPN (h/t SPORT), Barcelona defender Joao Cancelo has revealed that he received disturbing threats to himself and his family following the 1-4 loss to PSG this week.
Barcelona were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League after they faltered in the second leg of the quarterfinals despite having a lead in the first leg.
Ronald Araujo’s first-half sending-off was a major factor while Cancelo giving away a needless penalty after the break also played a role.
And, the Portuguese full-back has now revealed that following the match, people made disgusting remarks about him and his family on social media.
“I’ve been called all sorts of things. There are comments on Instagram that wish death to my unborn daughter. They won’t say that to my face, for sure, because we’re going to have problems, but in the comments, they’ll say anything,” revealed Cancelo.
“They offend my wife, my daughter who is about to be born, my baby. Today the world is cruel and you have to know how to live with that. Wishing death on a baby is a very serious thing,” the Barcelona defender added.
Cancelo admitted that he can accept criticism for his game, but making remarks against his family is crossing a line.
“Let them criticise me as a player like Ferdinand did, but let them not talk about my family. Let them talk about me as a player, not as a person,” he remarked.
Discussing the penalty incident, Cancelo admitted that he made a mistake with his foul on Ousmane Dembele and that he had trouble sleeping after Barcelona’s elimination from the Champions League, saying:
“I gave a childish penalty, but the way the game was, my head, and I accept the criticism. I didn’t sleep that night. I couldn’t because we had the illusion of going far.
“In the end when you don’t win, I personally have a lot of difficulty sleeping because I feel I didn’t do my job well.”
Continuing, he added: “It was a strange game and the way we lost was what kept me awake at night. I feel that eleven against eleven we could have won.”
