"Everything is going very well so far" - Manchester City star claims he immediately accepted offer to leave the club in January
Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo has claimed that he wasted no time in grabbing the chance to leave the club in January when the opportunity presented itself. He joined Bayern Munich on a six-month loan in January.
The Portuguese reportedly fell out with City manager Pep Guardiola as he saw game time hard to come by. He joined Bayern on a loan deal with the Bavarians having the option to make the deal permanent by spending €70 million in the summer.
Speaking about his departure, Cancelo told Fussball Transfers:
“With footballers, there is always a certain period of acclimatisation,” Fussball Transfers report him saying. That’s why I tried to integrate into the team as quickly as possible, to get to know my new colleagues and the system. On a team level and on a personal level, everything is going very well so far."
Cancelo added:
“When I got the opportunity to move to this great club, I accepted immediately. I’ve already been to Spain, Italy and England and now I wanted to experience football in Germany.”
Bayern, however, are unwilling to spend the hefty sum to make his move permanent and Cancelo might return to Manchester City in the summer. Given his relationship with Guardiola, he might be on his way out again. Barcelona are reportedly interested in taking him on loan.
Cancelo has scored one goal and provided four assists in 11 games for Bayern.
Joao Cancelo previously refuted claims that he had any issues with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola
Joao Cancelo was previously a crucial player for Manchester City under Pep Guardiola but their relationship reportedly turned sour in recent times. The full-back, however, previously rejected the notion that his departure was due to a poor relationship with Guardiola.
Cancelo said (via Manchester Evening News):
"My decision was only based on the lack of minutes in the last couple of weeks. There was speculation that my relationship to Pep Guardiola was not the best but the fact is that I just wanted to play more and now I have the opportunity and a dream came true."
Cancelo made 154 appearances for the Cityzens, scoring nine goals and providing 22 assists before leaving for Bayern.