Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo will not be joining Bayern Munich permanently this summer and could instead sign for a major club in Spain, according to reports.
Cancelo caused shock among Man City fans when it emerged he was preparing to leave the Etihad before the January transfer deadline. The 28-year-old had fallen out with manager Pep Guardiola due to his consistent use of squad rotation, with Cancelo unhappy about spending time on the bench.
Bayern soon emerged as the frontrunners to sign him. And they then reached an agreement with City, allowing the transfer to reach completion on January 31.
Cancelo has moved to Bayern on loan for the remainder of the campaign. The Bundesliga giants have the option to sign him permanently for €70million (£61.5m) in the summer.
But according to Italian outlet Calciomercato, Bayern are unlikely to activate this clause. That information has now been confirmed by Spanish newspaper Sport (via Sport Witness), who claim Bayern’s decision has already been sent to City.
This means Cancelo will return to City at the end of the season. However, he will not go back into Guardiola’s squad as the coach has crossed his name off.
Instead, Cancelo could achieve a shock Barcelona transfer. Sport reveal Barca would love to take the Portuguese to the Camp Nou due to two reasons.
The first is that Barca officials have admired him since his days at Valencia. Cancelo made 91 appearances for Barca’s La Liga rivals before moving to Juventus in summer 2018.
Barcelona, Jorge Mendes to negotiate over Man City player
The second factor at play is Cancelo’s representative, which is none other than super-agent Jorge Mendes. He has a great relationship with Barca chiefs and due to this a transfer should be relatively easy to sort out.
The only trouble for Barca is that they would struggle to meet City’s £61.5m asking price due to their financial problems.
To get around this, Barca could complete a similar transfer to Bayern. They may have to loan Cancelo for a season to give them 12 months to raise the necessary funds for his permanent signing.
Cancelo would be a fantastic capture for Barca. At City he made himself one of the best full-backs in the world, helping them to win two league titles and getting himself in two PFA Team of the Year ceremonies.
Cancelo’s move to Catalonia could come at the perfect time, too. Long-serving left-back Jordi Alba is coming towards the end of his career as he is now 33 years old.
Cancelo would be a great successor for Alba given his attacking prowess. Xavi also has Marcos Alonso and Alejandro Balde in his squad. Alonso is proving to be a useful squad player due to his versatility, while Balde looks set to become Barca’s first-choice left-back in the long run.
