Joao Cancelo has now expressed his desire to leave Manchester City permanently and join Barcelona this summer.
The Portugal international joined the Spanish champions at the beginning of the season, having fallen out of favour at the Etihad since the beginning of 2023.
Cancelo reportedly completed his mid-season transfer to Bayern Munich after he and Pep Guardiola had a falling out over his lack of playing time.
He came back in the summer to play a few of preseason games for City, but Pep did not include him in his matchday squad for the league matches.
On the day of the transfer deadline, Cancelo went on loan to Barcelona. He has had a respectable season there and has since said that he wishes to remain in Spain.
Cancelo has played a major role in Barcelona’s season. He has played 2334 minutes in 30 outings thus far, tallying three assists and four goals.
Regarding permanently signing the player, both Deco, the sporting director, and club president Joan Laporta have made public comments about their desire to sign the Portuguese player.
Cancelo hasn’t said anything officially until recently, despite rumours in the media that he didn’t want to go back to City.
A reporter questioned Cancelo about his desire to stay at Barcelona the next season when he attended the screening of Ronald Araujo’s documentary. The player answered “Si, si” (Yes, yes) without even a minute of doubt, according to Mundo Deportivo.
It appears that he will not be staying at the Etihad and that there is no meaningful way to make up for what transpired between him and Guardiola. Had that been the case, he undoubtedly would have been reincorporated into the team prior to the current season.
It now only comes down to whether Barca can afford to sign Cancelo on a permanent deal.
