Portuguese defender Joao Cancelo criticized coach Pep Guardiola and Man City in the incident that caused him to leave the English team in January 1.
Coach Guardiola and Cancelo in a match between Man City and Liverpool in the Premier League. Image: DPA
The Portuguese defender was angry when Guardiola told the media that he was unhappy with the performance of his former teammates Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake. “There were lies,” Cancelo emphasized. “I've never been a bad teammate, and you can ask Ake or Rico. I don't see myself above or below them, but that's the coach's opinion."
In the summer of 2019, Cancelo transferred from Juventus to Man City for a fee of about 74 million USD and became the most expensive right-back in history. He took the starting spot and became the team's mainstay, but had conflicts with Guardiola since the end of 2022. After the World Cup in Qatar, Cancelo only played five matches and was pushed to Bayern on loan from the end of January 1. He scored one goal in 2023 matches for the German club, but was not retained.
When Cancelo faded at Bayern, Man City flourished to win a historic treble, with the Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League. But the 29-year-old defender affirmed that he has no regrets even though Man City won the Champions League and made the right choice in joining the club that needed him.
In the summer of 2023, Cancelo continued to move to Barca under a loan contract with a buyout clause. This season, the Portuguese defender has four assists and four goals in 32 matches in all competitions, including two goals in La Liga and two in the Champions League. Barca President Joan Laporta publicly announced that he wanted to buy the 29-year-old player outright when the transfer window opened.
Cancelo is happy and considers wearing the Barca shirt a special moment. “My whole family is from Benfica, but I have always admired Barca,” he expressed. “All my idols play here, I like the way they support young players and they have a competitive culture which I love. I took a pay cut to come here and it doesn't bother me at all. This is the third time I plan to come to Barca and I finally came here."
Hong Duy
