Joao Cancelo, who recently completed a transfer from Manchester City to Bayern Munich, has opened out about his alleged altercation with Pep Guardiola.
Cancelo has joined the German powerhouses on loan through the end of the season with a purchase option for €70 million (£61.5 million), in a shocking deadline-day development.
Many have been shocked by the move of the crucial player for City since his arrival from Juventus at the Etihad in 2019, especially because the Citizens don’t seem to have a straight successor lined up for the aggressive full-back.
According to reports, the player and manager Guardiola had a falling out over the player’s lack of playing time following the World Cup.
And Cancelo appears to have corroborated this, albeit he has remained mum regarding the specifics of what was stated between him and the City manager.
The 28-year-old was quoted by Sky Germany as saying at his opening news conference, “There was a lot of conjecture regarding my relationship with Pep Guardiola.”
However, the truth is that all I wanted was to increase my playing time. And Bayern is where I see that opportunity.
‘Everything happened too fast for me to ask Pep Guardiola about Bayern Munich,’ you would say. I feel prepared to begin right away. I want to put on the Bayern jersey and start playing as soon as I can.
“First and foremost, I want to concentrate on my goals and the club’s goals. We’ll then take a seat and see what happens next.
I’ve enjoyed my time at Manchester City, and I always appreciated it. I continue to be bound by my deal with City.
Julian Nagelsmann, the manager of Bayern Munich, continued, “Brazzo [Hasan Salihamidi, the sporting director of Bayern] suggested that we had a chance to obtain Cancelo. Next, I exclaimed, “Let’s do it!”
Then, everything took place pretty rapidly. He and I have spoken frequently in the past. He is lively, brings a lot, and provides excellent support.
Joao is well and should be able to play tomorrow. However, I’m still unsure of the lineup.
Cancelo posted on Instagram: “Once a Cityzen, always a Cityzen” just before the transfer was officially announced. I’m grateful.
The 154 appearances the Portugal international made for the team resulted in nine goals and 22 assists. He was also named to the PFA Team of the Year each of the previous two seasons.
He made the 2021 Champions League final and won two Premier League championships, and one League Cup.
