Joao Cancelo remains a Manchester City player, and it could be that his dream move back to Barcelona is now in some jeopardy.
The full-back has been back at Manchester City for the past couple of weeks, after returning from a loan spell at Barca in 2023/24.
Cancelo was with the Spanish giants last term, after there was no change in his situation at City and with Pep Guardiola. During the Treble-winning season, Cancelo and Pep reportedly fell out over the player’s reaction to a lack of game time.
Cancelo wants to return to Barcelona.
But the situation has been complicated because of the Spanish giants’ poor financial situation. They cannot afford to buy him outright, and would only be able to sign him on loan. City would want a commitment from Barca to buy him next summer if they did sanction a loan.
But it now looks as though Barca may not swoop for Cancelo after all following one report coming out of Spain.
Barcelona have reservations about Joao Cancelo after ‘behaviours’ and ‘attitude’ he showed last season
It has been claimed by SPORT that Cancelo moving back to Barcelona is now in some doubt.
First of all, the club are put off by Cancelo’s very high wages. The player is apparently not willing to lower his demands to facilitate a move. And Barca are not willing to pay him any more than they did last season.
There are also a few other reasons why Barca now have reservations about the move.
Officials recall Cancelo struggling in some games last term, notably the Champions League quarter-final second leg with Paris Saint-Germain. Cancelo was seen after that games as a ‘culprit’ for the team’s defeat.
And then SPORT mention some things that may not come as too much of a surprise to City fans.
Apparently, Cancelo showed some behaviors off the field last season which ‘generated discomfort among some of the most important players of the team’.
It is stated that Cancelo’s attitude when he did not start was ‘not well seen’ by the top players.
Cancelo situation is frustrating for City
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This is quite the claim from SPORT and is not a good look for Cancelo if true.
The situation with the Portugal international has long been a frustrating one for City, who signed the player for £60 million back in 2019.
The player has been insistent on returning to a club that cannot afford to buy him and seemingly don’t want to commit to buying him next summer.
But now, that club have reservations about him, which just makes things worse for City who could well end up stuck with him at this rate.
One gets the feeling this one will rumble on for days yet. One possible solution for City could be offloading the player to Saudi club – he is apparently wanted by Al-Hilal, and their window is open until early October.
