Author: Soorya G
Catalan giants Barcelona have completed the signing of Portuguese full-back João Cancelo from Manchester City, according to various reports from reliable sources. The former Juventus player had been on the European champions’ transfer list since he fell out with coach Pep Guardiola shortly before the end of the January transfer window. Cancelo reportedly expressed his disagreement after being benched in a series of games in favor of young Rico Lewis.
Guardiola then decided to sell the player, but in the absence of offers so late in the window, Cancelo opted to move to German champions Bayern Munich on a short-term loan, with an option to buy for 70 million euros. Despite performing very well in his time in Bavaria, in which the team overturned a lacklustre start to the campaign to win the league on the final matchday, Bayern opted not to even negotiate with City for Cancelo. Instead, he acquired Cancelo’s fellow countryman, Raphael Guerreiro, from Borussia Dortmund.
However, Cancelo attracted a lot of interest from Barcelona, who were supposedly interested in signing the player in the January window. Now, with Cancelo definitely out of Guardiola’s plans and the arrival of Josko Gvardiol, the Portuguese star’s departure was more or less guaranteed. Following the completion of the sale of French World Cup winner Ousmane Dembele to Paris Saint Germain, Barcelona decided to go after Cancelo, and it seems that they have reached an agreement with Manchester City.
The two parties have agreed on a season-long loan with an option to buy, according to renowned Italian transfer journalist Fabrizio Romano, who has confirmed that the deal has been completed. The exact terms of the agreement are not yet known. However, it is expected that Barcelona will have to pay a sum of around 30 to 40 million euros to secure Cancelo’s services on a permanent basis.
“João Cancelo to Barcelona, here we come! Manchester City and Barça are finally exchanging documents at the moment so that the deal can be signed today. João, ready to travel to Barcelona tonight. Loan agreement with purchase option clause included. It was only a matter of time“. Romano posted on Twitter.