Joao Cancelo has been speaking about his future – and the star has said he is actively working on leaving Manchester City and joining Barcelona permanently.
The 29-year-old has been with the Spanish giants since the start of the current season.
He joined them on loan, after Pep Guardiola had left him out of a few competitive matchday squads right at the start of the campaign.
He had featured a little in pre-season for City. But it became clear that he was not in the plans of the manager and so, another loan move was facilitated.
It is safe to say at this point that Cancelo is very keen not to return to City, with a permanent move to Barca his priority…
Joao Cancelo adamant he doesn’t want Manchester City return and instead wants Barcelona switch
Cancelo has conducted a new interview about his future.
He recently appeared at a premiere for the documentary his teammate Ronald Araujo released, and was asked by reporters if he wanted to remain with Barca, to which he replied ‘Yes, yes’.
Now, Cancelo has gone further, stating Barca is where he always wanted to be, and saying he’s doing all he can to stay.
He said to RTP, as quoted by the Mirror: “At the moment they haven’t told me anything, but I hope I can stay. I’m doing everything to make that happen. I really want to play for Benfica, really, but I want to play two or three more years here.
“Although we have financial problems, I am delighted to be here. After Benfica, it is the club that I always liked. Pepe told me many times that he was a player for Real Madrid, but I told him that it was for Barcelona. The truth is that I am where I always wanted to be.”
Cancelo also spoke about Pep Guardiola in the interview, admitting that the pair just didn’t agree on certain things.
Cancelo intentions are clear, but Man City need fair price
It is crystal clear at this point that Cancelo does not want to come back to City, and Pep does not want to reintegrate him.
If there was any chance of that happening, the manager would have done it already.
Whatever has really gone on behind the scenes, the situation seems irreconcilable and it’s time for the player to leave permanently this summer.
But City need a fair price, for a player who is still under contract at the Etihad until the summer of 2027.
Barcelona’s financial problems have been well documented in recent years and there cannot be any big favours from City, just to get rid of a player they no longer want. The club are likely to cooperate with anyone over a potential deal for Cancelo, but ultimately he’s an asset and they can’t be going too far below his true value.