Joao Cancelo joins Barcelona on loan from Man City

Forum 8 months ago

Joao Cancelo joins Barcelona on loan from Man City

Barcelona have signed Joao Cancelo on a season-long loan from Manchester City.

Head coach Xavi had made public his desire to bring in a right-back before the end of the summer transfer window, and he has now got his wish with the signing of Cancelo.

The Portugal international fell out of favour at Man City during the first half of the 2022/23 season, joining Bayern Munich on loan during the January window. He ironically played against his parent club during the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Bayern retained a €70m (£60m) option to buy Cancelo at the end of his loan spell, and while they were impressed by the versatile full-back, they were reluctant to fork out such a sum and instead opted to prioritise funds for other transfers, such as Harry Kane from Tottenham Hotspur.

Cancelo rejoined Man City for pre-season preparations but did not feature in any of their opening three Premier League games, the Community Shield or the UEFA Super Cup as he sought to finalise a move away.

The 29-year-old has now completed a move to Barcelona for the 2023/24 season, with the Spanish champions getting a deal over the line after a long month of negotiations.