Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo ‘agrees personal terms with Barcelona’ and is a ‘priority target’ for Xavi
- Man City defender Joao Cancelo has ‘agreed personal terms’ to join Barcelona
- The right back came on as a substitute in City’s 2-1 defeat by Atletico Madrid
- Barca boss Xavi has seen the Portugal international as a ‘target since January’
Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo has ‘agreed personal terms’ with Barcelona, according to reports.
Much uncertainty hangs over the 29-year-old’s future at the Premier League champions, with Cancelo having spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola.
Mail Sport reported back in January that the Portugal international had been involved in a furious training ground bust-up with the Spanish manager, which sparked his shock exit from the club.
But it now appears that he could be set to depart the Etihad once again, with Fabrizio Romano reporting that the right back, who’s contract at Man City runs out in 2027 ‘has agreed personal terms with Barcelona and wants the move’.
The Italian journalist also claimed: ‘Xavi wanted to sign him since January as a priority target with talks now ongoing with Man City over a deal structure.’
Joao Cancelo (pictured) has reportedly agreed personal terms with Barcelona amid a potential move to the Spanish champions this summer
Xavi (pictured) has been looking to bring him to the club since January and sees him as a ‘priority target’ according to reports
It comes after he left City last season to go out on loan at Bayern Munich after Mail Sport reported he had fallen out with his manager Pep Guardiola (pictured)
With Ousmane Dembele looking likely to leave the Nou Camp in a £43million move to Paris Saint-Germain, the cash strapped club are, per Romano, hoping to use some of the funds from the French forward’s sale to acquire Cancelo.
Barcelona have, for some time, been interested in bringing the defender to Catalonia, with Mail Sport reporting back in May that the LaLiga outfit were interested in signing him on a season-long loan.
It was reported yesterday that the club were in talks to sign the defender, with Guardiola dismissing claims from his former counterpart, Xavi, that he had blocked a move to sign for the Spanish giants back in January.
Cancelo (left) has featured in three of Man City’s pre-season friendlies, including their 2-1 win against his former club
Cancelo, who joined Man City in 2019 for £27.4m, instead went on to play 21 times for Bayern across all competitions, notably helping Thomas Tuchel’s side clinch the Bundesliga title on the final game of the season.
Following his departure from City, he claimed his surprise move to the Bundesliga had nothing to do with his relationship with Guardiola.
Interestingly, the Bavarian outfit were unwilling to trigger a £62m option to secure the defender on a permanent deal.
Cancelo has played in three of Man City’s pre-season friendlies so far this summer, notably coming off the bench to help the Premier League champions defeat his former club, Bayern, 2-1 in Tokyo last week.
