Ostracised Manchester City figure Joao Cancelo will leave the club in the ongoing summer transfer window, according to sports journalist Rudy Galetti [via GiveMeSport].
Galetti mentions that the Portuguese full-back has a ‘bad relationship’ with City manager Pep Guardiola and that he no longer wants to play for the Spaniard.
It is unclear as to where Cancelo will end up when he departs the Etihad Stadium, but one thing is clear – as far as he is concerned, his time with the Citizens is over.
Will Manchester City miss Joao Cancelo?
In the first half of the season, Manchester City looked like a decent outfit – while they dropped key points to the likes of Brentford, Everton and Liverpool, they were still considered favourites to win the league.
In the second half, after the the conclusion of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the Sky Blues were nothing short of formidable. They went on a seemingly unstoppable run of form that ultimately saw them win the treble at the campaign’s conclusion.
Notably, Cancelo played regularly during the first part of the season, but was then shipped out on loan for the latter half. Without Cancelo in the side, City arguably became a better team.
As such, City will not miss Cancelo when he departs the club. They will, however, need to sign a left-back in his absence. Several players were moved into that role out of necessity last season, including John Stones, Nathan Ake and Bernardo Silva. While they all performed admirably when called upon, they won’t be seen as long-term solutions to the problem.
Joao Cancelo football career summary so far
Born in 1994, Cancelo initially joined the youth academy of Barreirense, before making the jump to Benfica in 2007. He made his first-team debut with Os Encarnados in 2014 – he was then sold to Valencia after his initial loan spell there was successful.
He went on to make 74 appearances for Valencia, scoring two goals, before moving to the Serie A. He first joined Inter Milan on loan, which was then followed by a brief stint at Juventus.
After a year with Juve, he was snapped up by Manchester City for a reported fee of £27.4 million plus Danilo, who was included as part of a swap deal.
