Manchester City are set to sell Joao Cancelo to Barcelona for a bargain price of £24.3 million.
Cancelo, 29, is currently on loan at Barcelona, who were unable to raise the finances to sign him permanently this summer. Following a spat with manager Pep Guardiola in January, City demanded roughly £55 million for the Portuguese full-back.
Bayern Munich were unwilling to sign him on a permanent basis after loaning him out for the second half of last season. Barcelona swooped on transfer deadline day and completed a loan deal, with talks on a full trade continuing into September.
According to the Daily Star, City has lowered their demands and will sell Cancelo for less than half of their original asking price. Barcelona’s financial problems are well-documented, but the 29-year-old’s early displays under Xavi have already encouraged them to sign him.
Cancelo has two goals and one assist in his first five La Liga outings, and he guided his new team to a 1-0 win at home against Sevilla on Friday, putting up an excellent display both defensively and offensively. The addition of the Portugal international, along with that of Joao Felix, has brought fresh life to Xavi’s side, which presently sits atop the Spanish table.
“We’re talking about two players whose individual talent is undeniable,” Xavi recently stated. “When you see them train, you can see their greatness.” Cancelo comes from a coach (Guardiola) who, in my opinion, is the greatest at interpreting everything.
We chatted with him, and he understood. We saw a video with Joao Felix yesterday. They both provide options that improve the team. They are physically strong. They improve the team’s quality, which has been extremely good overall.”
Despite Cancelo and Guardiola’s falling out, City boss Pep Guardiola was open to keeping him in his team, having brought him on their pre-season tour of Asia. “He’s arrived. “Joao has been crucial for us in the past,” Guardiola said. “He’s returned and is now a member of the group.” We’ll have to wait and see what happens.”
Cancelo, on the other hand, was eager for a fresh challenge and stated upon his arrival in Barcelona, “I’m going to do everything to explode at Barca.” I’ll attempt to demonstrate my football skills and abilities, but always with the assistance of the team.”
After defeating Sevilla, the right-back, who can also play on the left, told Movistar: “I’m trying my best to help the team, everyone is doing well.”
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