Pep Guardiola rejects claims Man City blocked Barcelona from signing Joao Cancelo in January… insisting that Xavi had been ‘misinformed’
- Barcelona boss Xavi claimed last month Man City blocked a move for Cancelo
- The defender then joined Bayern Munich on loan for the remainder of the season
- City boss Pep Guardiola has suggested his former player had been misinformed
Pep Guardiola has denied claims from his Barcelona counterpart Xavi that Manchester City had blocked Joao Cancelo from moving to the club in the January transfer window.
Cancelo left the Etihad in January after falling out with Guardiola as he joined Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.
In an interview with Catalan broadcaster TV3 last month, Xavi revealed Barcelona had been interested in bringing the Portuguese full back to the club.
Xavi said the club were offered Cancelo, but were later informed that Man City had vetoed a move to the La Liga side.
‘We wanted Cancelo. They offered him to us and we gave the ok,’ Xavi said.
Barcelona boss Xavi claimed last month that Man City had blocked their move to Joao Cancelo
Cancelo spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich after joining in January
Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has claimed that Xavi has been misinformed over Cancelo
‘In the end they told us that Manchester City do not want him to come to Barca.
‘That is true.’
Guardiola, who managed Xavi during his career at Barcelona, refused to criticise his former player when asked about his comments on Cancelo.
The Man City manager, speaking in Catalonia, denied that the club had prevented Cancelo from moving to Barcelona.
‘He has been misinformed,’ Guardiola said, as per Sport.
‘He is far from reality. We decided that Joao had to leave and we didn’t care where, as if he wanted to go to Manchester United, who are the city rivals.
‘I’m not saying Xavi was lied to, but I’m saying he was misinformed.
‘Joao went to Bayern because Bayern wanted him. We didn’t get an offer from Barca.’
Cancelo made 21 appearances for Bayern after joining on loan in January, but the German side are not expected to trigger a £63m option to sign the full back permanently.
Barcelona are claimed to retain an interest in Cancelo, with reports last month suggested Man City could accept an offer of £34m.
Portugal international Cancelo joined City from Juventus in 2019.
Cancelo has made 154 appearances for City and played a key role in two Premier League triumphs, while he is eligible for a medal for this season’s triumph. In addition, Cancelo won the Carabao Cup on three occasions.
