João Cancelo has added a singular chapter to a well-travelled career after Barcelona secured back-to-back La Liga titles in 2025/26. The full back, whose technical ability allows him to operate on both flanks, has primarily been deployed on the left and played a decisive role as Barça wrapped up the title with a 2–0 El Clásico win over Real Madrid.

On Sunday night Cancelo made his 13th La Liga appearance of the season and his ninth start as Barcelona clinched the championship. That appearance completed a run of domestic winners’ medals across Europe’s principal competitions: the Primeira Liga at Benfica, Serie A with Juventus in 2018–19, three Premier League titles with Man City in 2020–21, 2021–22 and 2022–23, a Bundesliga medal during a loan at Bayern Munich in 2023 and now La Liga with Barcelona in 2025–26. No player before him has won all four of Europe’s major leagues; the only comparable record has been achieved by Carlo Ancelotti as a manager.

Cancelo’s path has mixed permanent transfers with a series of high-profile loans. He spent 2007–14 at Benfica before moving to Valencia (2014–17), a loan to Inter in 2017–18 and Juventus in 2018–19, then a memorable spell at Manchester City from 2019–23. He was out on loan for the second half of 2022–23 and that move opened the door for his Bayern winners’ medal. He is now nearing the end of his second temporary stay at Barcelona, having also been on loan there in 2023–24. Barcelona failed to retain the La Liga title that season and subsequently parted ways with manager Xavi Hernández. Then came Hansi Flick.

Reports in AS say Cancelo wants to remain in Catalonia, but Barcelona remain hamstrung by financial constraints and will prioritise other positions this summer. Hansi Flick has made clear he would welcome a compromise with Al Hilal to secure a permanent transfer, reflecting the impact Cancelo has had since arriving in the winter window.

Tears will be shed when Mohamed Salah bids farewell to Liverpool supporters, but what endures are the moments that reshaped the club during his time on Merseyside. Few players have delivered such a sequence of decisive strikes, finals contributions and unforgettable derby goals.

Salah’s introduction at Anfield produced a staggering return — a 44-goal campaign that silenced critics who labelled him a ‘one-season wonder’. That debut season contained one of his most celebrated efforts: a solo run and finish in the Merseyside derby in December 2017 that later earned the FIFA Puskás Award.

Liverpool’s run to the Champions League final in 2018 showcased Salah at full tilt until the final itself in Kyiv. En route he produced a match-winning equalizer at the Etihad Stadium to turn the tie against Manchester City, and a commanding display against Roma in the Anfield semifinal first leg underlined his influence across Europe.

The 2018–19 season brought both near-miss and redemption. Liverpool finished second in the Premier League with 97 points, and Salah produced one of his signature long-range strikes against Chelsea late in that campaign. European solace arrived in Madrid as Liverpool defeated Tottenham Hotspur 2–0 in the Champions League final. Salah’s composed early penalty set Liverpool on their way. For the first and only time in his career, Salah was a European champion.

Salah’s repertoire of solo goals continued to astound. In October 2021 he weaved past multiple defenders before rifling a low finish past Ederson from a tight angle on his right foot. A trip to Old Trafford delivered another landmark: Salah became the first visiting player to score a Premier League hat trick at Old Trafford in a 5–0 victory, one of several dominant displays against Manchester United including a 7–0 win at Anfield the following season.

When Arne Slot replaced Jürgen Klopp there was understandable uncertainty, but Salah answered any questions on the field. In 2024–25 he produced the best season of his career, maintaining the attacking numbers and moments of brilliance that defined his Liverpool legacy.

The concept of a true quadruple in football is narrowly defined and, by that measure, exceptionally rare. To qualify a campaign must deliver a club’s top continental trophy, the domestic league, the primary domestic cup and the secondary domestic cup in the same season. In England that would mean winning the Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and EFL Cup. One-off honours such as the Community Shield or Supercopa de España are excluded, as are tournaments like the FIFA Club World Cup and secondary continental competitions including the Europa League and Europa Conference League.

Arsenal’s season has produced significant progress across those four competitions. In the Champions League, Mikel Arteta’s side have already booked their place in the last 16, finishing first in their league phase after winning all eight matches. Domestically, Arsenal remain alive in the FA Cup while also reaching the EFL Cup final after seeing off Chelsea 4–2 on aggregate in the semifinals.

Those results leave Arsenal well positioned, but history underlines how difficult the task remains. Only one European team has ever completed the strict quadruple: Celtic in 1966–67, when Jock Stein’s Lisbon Lions won the European Cup, Scottish First Division, Scottish Cup and Scottish League Cup, their European campaign capped by a 2–1 victory over Inter Milan in the European Cup final at Lisbon’s Estádio Nacional. Outside Europe, Santos in 1962, led by Pelé, completed a recognised quadruple with the Campeonato Paulista, Campeonato Brasileiro Série A, Copa Libertadores and the Intercontinental Cup.

There are many examples of clubs winning four or more trophies in a season without meeting the strict definition. Paris Saint-Germain secured domestic trebles in 2014–15, 2015–16, 2017–18 and 2019–20 and added the Trophée des Champions in those years. When PSG won the Champions League in 2024–25 they also won Ligue 1 and the Coupe de France, but the Coupe de la Ligue had already been scrapped. Clubs such as Barcelona, Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Porto, and teams in South America and Asia including River Plate, São Paulo, Peñarol, Al-Muharraq and Al-Wehdat, have enjoyed trophy-laden seasons that still fell short of a true quadruple.