Barcelona president Joan Laporta remains extremely keen to land one player from Manchester City this summer, as he seeks to bridge the gap to Real Madrid.
It was a disappointing season for Barca, as they went trophyless after winning the league title last season.
Barca have sacked Xavi and now brought in Hansi Flick as manager, and they are gearing up for a big summer to try and be more competitive next season.
They watched Real win the league and Champions League, and of course, they have just signed Kylian Mbappe in what is a major statement.
Barca have financial problems though, which could hurt them this summer.
And it’s possible Manchester City may have to deal with this, because Laporta has again insisted that Barca want Joao Cancelo…
Laporta says ‘the situation hasn’t changed’ as Barcelona eye Joao Cancelo
Last season, Barcelona signed Joao Cancelo on a season-long loan from City, and they also signed Joao Felix on loan from Atletico Madrid.
They want to sign both of these players again for next season.
But they likely won’t be able to afford both on permanent deals. Potentially, they might not even be able to afford either permanently.
But Laporta is determined to get them both again, starting that both Deco – the club’s sporting director – and Flick like the duo. He said (Mundo Deportivo): “We want (the Joãos) to continue. The situation has not changed. I have heard from Deco that Hansi Flick considers them to be players of great quality.”
Cancelo was a key player for Barca last season, with Xavi handing him 42 appearances across all competitions.
The Portugal international largely impressed, but did have some poor outings from a defensive standpoint as well. After losing 5-3 to Villarreal back in January, Cancelo described his own performances as a ‘disaster’.
Cancelo situation is frustrating for City
It is very clear at this point that Barca really want Cancelo back. But whether a deal can happen remains to be seen.
City would prefer to sell the player this summer. But the issue is that there doesn’t appear to be a huge amount of interest in the £250,000-a-week star at the moment. And the player wants a permanent move to Barca, a club with financial problems.
It may well be that City are forced to loan him out again. Because it seems his chances of playing competitively for City again under Pep are slim to none.
We will see what transpires. It could be that Barca and City agree on another loan for Cancelo, but this time there will be an obligation to buy in the summer of 2025. That could give Barca enough time to get their finances in order.