According to a new report, Barcelona are now out of contention to sign Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo, even on loan.
Cancelo is expected to leave City this summer after falling out with Pep Guardiola last season.
The 29-year-old full-back was loaned out to Bayern Munich in January after Guardiola became concerned that his attitude was negatively affecting the City dressing room.
Bayern decided against activating the £62m purchase option in the deal, and Cancelo has now returned to Manchester for pre-season training.
The Portuguese international has four years remaining on his contract at the Etihad Stadium, but Guardiola has made it clear that he does not want the defender in his squad this season.
City ideally want to sell Cancelo this summer rather than loan him out, with Barcelona, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain the biggest sides linked with a move.
Barcelona out of the race
Barcelona are in the market for a new full-back following the departure of Jordi Alba at the end of last season.
Head coach Xavi and the club’s hierarchy have identified Cancelo – once described as ‘incredible’ by Guardiola – as a prime candidate, are were interested in signing him on loan in January.
However, the club were not able to cover as much of Cancelo’s wages as Bayern were, so the player went to Germany instead.
It now appears that Barcelona’s financial situation will once again be their undoing.
According to SPORT, a move for Cancelo can be ‘practically ruled out’ due to the costs involved.
Even a season-long loan, which could cost Barca as much as €20m, is seemingly off the cards, as the Blaugrana do not see the point in spending so much on a player who they will not own outright.
MCN view: City might have to compromise on Cancelo
Cancelo appears to have no future at City as long as Pep Guardiola is manager, but they might not find it easy to sell.
City have little leverage – prospective buyers know that City are desperate to sell Cancelo so can drive the price down.
Then there’s the issue of finding a buyer; there doesn’t appear to be many around.
If City want to offload Cancelo for the sake of squad harmony, then a loan might turn out to be the only option.
