- Joao Cancelo has not played for parent club Manchester City since January 2023
- The full-back has been on loan at Bayern Munich and, more recently, at Barcelona
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Pep Guardiola has suggested that Joao Cancelo will return to his Manchester City squad this summer unless Barcelona can agree a deal for the defender.
Full-back Cancelo has not played for City for 17 months.
His most recent competitive appearance for the English champions came in January 2023, when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss to Manchester United.
Cancelo was loaned to Bayern Munich a few weeks later. He played 21 games for Bayern but the German club decided not to sign him permanently at the end of the 2022-23 season.
The Portuguese international, who will represent his country at Euro 2024 this summer, spent the season on loan at Barcelona.
Pep Guardiola (right) has said that Joao Cancelo (left) could return to Manchester City
Cancelo’s last official game for City was a defeat in the Manchester derby in January 2023.
He was a starter in the Barça first team and played 42 games in all competitions.
Cancelo’s latest loan deal will end this month.
He could still remain in Catalonia, but only if an agreement can be reached that suits all parties.
Otherwise, the 31-year-old will likely be part of City’s traveling squad for their pre-season tour of the United States, which begins at the end of July.
“It has to be the best for everyone,” Guardiola said this week while attending a golf event in Girona. ‘The two clubs will sit down.
“He is our player and, if an agreement is not reached, he will have to return in the preseason.
“If he wants to stay here (at Barcelona) and the clubs agree, it will be done again.”
The Portuguese full-back spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Barcelona in the Spanish La Liga
Cancelo is currently with the Portugal national team preparing for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany
It was widely reported that Cancelo and Guardiola were involved in a heated dispute before his first loan departure.
However, Cancelo has denied this and said Sports world last year: ‘It’s a lie that I had a fight with Guardiola, a complete lie.
“I didn’t feel important to the team in the last few games. I spoke to the coach and he agreed.
“Me, the coach and the club decided that I had to leave, that it was the best option for me. I like new opportunities and I have nothing against City.”
Guardiola and Cancelo quarreled during the 2022/23 season, but the player denies it
Cancelo was loaned by City to Bayern Munich halfway through the 2022-23 campaign
Cancelo still has another three years left on his contract with City, which he signed in February 2022.
He has been on City’s books since August 2019, when he arrived from Juventus.