Barcelona have €35 million verbal clause in place to sign 29-year-old star next summer: Reports
Barcelona have reportedly agreed on a deal with Manchester City to sign fullback Joao Cancelo on a permanent basis. The Portuguese defender joined the Catalan side on loan this summer but they do not have the option to sign him permanently in the current contract.
As per a report in El Chiringuito TV, Barcelona have now reached a verbal agreement with Manchester City to sign the Portugal international for €35 million. The current La Liga champions still need to get their financial issues sorted but are working on getting their squad for next season ready.
Sporting director Deco spoke about the possibility of singing Cancelo and Joao Felix permanently next season but admitted that they were not ready yet. He hinted at their financial issues and said (via Marca):
"The opportunity that was presented to us for the Joaos was for loans. There are still internal issues. If things go well, we will want them to stay, but this is only the beginning."
Ahead of the match against Real Mallorca, Deco was once again quizzed about the loanees joining them permanently and he said:
"The decision is a matter for the coach as well. He is the one in charge. Not only them, but Gündogan, Romeu, Iñigo... all those who have arrived this year are doing wel. It is too early to see if they will stay the year that is coming. A loan was the only thing we could do. Now we have to think about the present. Little by little we will see. We are happy with both of them."
Barcelona were keen on signing Cancelo in January too but could not get their finances sorted and the defender joined Bayern Munich.
Pep Guardiola has no plans for Barcelona target at Manchester City
Pep Guardiola admitted at the end of last season that he wanted Joao Cancelo away from his squad. He added that they were ready to let him join Manchester United if he wanted to.
He told Euro ES Euro:
"I think they have informed him very badly. He is far from reality. The reality was that we decided that he had to leave. We didn't care where he was going, even if he wanted to go to United, which is our rival. There is his agent and the clubs they agree. I won't say that they deceived him but that they misinformed him."
Cancelo has started his season at Barcelona well and scored the winner against Celta Vigo at the weekend.