Joao Cancelo has not received permission to leave Manchester City yet due to a possible transfer hiccup.
That’s according to Fabrizio Romano, who has reported that the full-back’s proposed move to Barcelona has hit a snag.
Cancelo fell out of favour under Pep Guardiola last season and spent the second half of the campaign on loan at Bayern Munich.
The treble winners have been trying to offload the 29-year-old all summer, with Barcelona the club most heavily linked with him.
Barcelona move in jeopardy?
As reported earlier this week, City and Barcelona have reached an agreement for the loan of Cancelo.
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The Portugal international will spend this season on loan at the Spanish giants, who will reportedly have a £30 million purchase option.
However, according to Fabrizio Romano, that agreement does not mean Cancelo will definitely join Barca.
On Thursday morning, Romano tweeted: “Joao Cancelo hasn’t received the approval to travel to Barcelona today [Thursday]. No green light as Financial Fair Play checks are not allowing to proceed yet.
“Patience on all sides but feeling still the same: Cancelo will join Barca.”
With Cancelo keen to join Barca and personal terms not an issue, the player is waiting to travel to Spain to undergo his medical.
However, Barcelona’s well-documented financial struggles appear to have thrown a spanner in the works.
Even if the deal is given the all-clear, there is still the issue of how Barcelona will register Cancelo with La Liga, so that he is eligible to play in league matches.
Given the agreement between the two clubs and the keenness of City and Barcelona manager Xavi to conclude the deal, it feels like the move will eventually go through.