Joao Cancelo set to leave Man City for Barcelona

Manchester City and Barcelona are now very close to announcing the transfer of Joao Cancelo, who fell out of favour with Pep Guardiola last season at the Etihad. The Portuguese right-back will return to Spanish football, where he spent a memorable three and a half seasons with Valencia between 2014 and 2018.

The agreement was announced by transfer market specialist Fabrizio Romano, who reported that the two clubs are exchanging documents on Monday to get the deal signed the very same day.

The Italian also reports that Cancelo will travel to Barcelona during the day, meaning the transfer could be announced as early as Monday evening or Tuesday morning. The Catalans are working against the clock to try and complete at least two more signings before the window closes on Friday September 1st. 

However, it's all a balancing act as the club still need to make a few more sales to ensure any new arrivals comply with Financial Fair Play regulations.

Joao Cancelo will join Barcelona on loan with an option to buy included in the deal. It will be the defender's second spell in Spain, as he moved from Benfica in 2014 to play for a then-booming Valencia side. After his time at La Mestalla, with the last two seasons showing outstanding performances, Inter Milan signed him for the 2017-18 season.

In Italy he played one season at Inter and another at Juventus before joining Manchester City, where Guardiola turned him into an all-round player before cutting practically all ties with the Portuguese star when he complained about his lack of protagonism in the team during the 2022-23 season.

For that reason, he left the team in the winter for Bayern Munich, who elected not to keep hold of him despite his good performances. Xavi Hernandez's first objective, after his team suffered on the right side of the defence against Villarreal, is to find a way to channel this complicated character.

 

August 28, 2023