Rejected Currently on loan at FC Barcelona, Joao Cancelo, a defender for Manchester City, has disclosed that he “always wanted to be at” the La Liga giants during his career.
The Portugal international is quickly nearing one of the most significant summer transfer windows of his elite professional playing career, as it appears Manchester City is demanding that he sign a long-term contract to leave the Etihad Stadium.
Midway through the Treble-winning season, when Manchester City approved a temporary agreement involving Cancelo and a six-month move to Bayern Munich, that sentiment from within the City Football Academy first surfaced.
Cancelo joined Barcelona for the length of the season after the Premier League winners renegotiated a new 12-month loan deal with the club, after he had spent the preseason with Manchester City ahead of the current campaign.
In an interview published recently in the Spanish publication Sport, Joao Cancelo stated that, in spite of efforts by a fellow countryman to push through a transfer to Real Madrid, he has always wаnted to play for FC Barcelona.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/73220082/2070960447.0.jpg)
Cancelo said, “I am happy to be at Barcelona; it is the club I always wаnted to be at.” “It is the club I have always liked, after Benfica.”
Regarding efforts to convince Cancelo to sign a contract with Real Madrid at an earlier point in his elite career, the City player currently on loan added, “Pepe said that I was a player for Madrid, but I told him that I am from Barça.”
Although he has a contract with Manchester City through 2027, there is a perception within the Etihad Stadium community that the club is prepared to lose on the Portugal international in order to acquire a long-term agreement.
But given their continuous financial difficulties, it’s unclear if Barcelona could approve a long-term contract for Joao Cancelo, even at Manchester City’s lowball offer to teams.
It’s also unclear if City would try to add a right-back during the summer transfer window given that Yan Couto, an on-loan player, is playing well for Girona and Kyle Walker’s play has been questioned at times this season.