
Manchester City
Premier League • England
Man City superstar Guardiola is sick of confirms he wants out, as transfer to Euro giant gathers pace

A Man City superstar has doubled down on wanting out of the treble winners
A Manchester City ace has doubled down on wanting out of the treble winners, and with Pep Guardiola ready to wave goodbye, a transfer to a European giant is on the cards.
A key player in City’s recent successes prior to last season was versatile full-back, Joao Cancelo. The Portuguese operated to an incredibly high standard at either right-back or left-back and was named in successive Premier League teams of the season between 2020-22. Cancelo also earned a spot in the FIFPro World XI in 2022.
However, Guardiola’s tactical tweaks that involved featuring an additional centre-half who ventures forward quickly saw Cancelo marginalised last season.
A reported falling out between the player and manager ultimately resulted in Cancelo leaving on loan for Bayern Munich mid-way through the season.
Upon returning to Man City in the summer, Cancelo was again turfed out on loan, this time to Barcelona. The player’s season-long deal does not contain an option to buy, though Barcelona fully intend to bring Cancelo back one way or another.
Cancelo is also on board with returning to Catalonia and has publicly stated his desire to re-join Barcelona next season.
Now, in an interview with Gazzetta dello Sport, Cancelo doubled down on his desire to ditch City for Barca next year.
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Cancelo eyeing Barcelona stay
“I know nothing yet [about the future], but I’d like to stay here (Barcelona),” said Cancelo. “I grew up watching Ronaldinho’s Barcelona. He’s my idol.
“I am proud to wear this jersey, and there aren’t other clubs I can join, right?”
According to a recent report from Sport, Guardiola ‘does not want Cancelo in his squad’ next season.
A permanent sale will thus be given the green light, though Man City aren’t all that fussed who they sell to. Indeed, City will nor prioritise any one club and will instead sell to the highest bidder.
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That poses a problem for Barcelona given their well-documented financial woes. Indeed, Sport claimed Barca might only be able to muster a meagre bid of €15m-€20m, while City are expected to hold out for €30m at least.
According to a fresh update from Football Espana, Barcelona could attempt to sign Cancelo to another loan deal, though this time it would contain an option or obligation to buy at the end of the 2024/25 campaign.
To entice Man City into accepting, the option/obligation would presumably be set at a figure much closer to City’s current valuation of Cancelo.
The full-back is under contract at the Etihad until 2027, so City aren’t under any immediate pressure to cash in any time soon.
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