Pep Guardiola to block Manchester City star from joining Real Madrid to force Barcelona move - Reports
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola will reportedly block any attempts from Real Madrid to sign Barcelona target Joao Cancelo.
The Portugal international fell out of favor at City and was allowed to join Bayern Munich on a six-month loan in January. Thomas Tuchel, however, isn't overly convinced by his performances and the Bavarians will, hence, opt against meeting the €60 million buy option in his contract.
According to El Nacional, Barcelona and Real Madrid are taking note of the situation. Cancelo has emerged as a serious target for the Catalan giants who want to free centre-backs Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde from right-back duties.
Real Madrid will also benefit from the 28-year-old's addition considering he can double up as a left-back. Los Blancos don't have solid competition for right-back Daniel Carvajal (31) and are believed to be looking for an upgrade on Ferland Mendy.
Guardiola, however, will not let Cancelo strengthen Real Madrid. He will block any such move from happening and will reportedly want the Manchester City loanee to join Barcelona instead.
This won't be because of Guardiola's past affiliations with Barca as a player and a manager. He supposedly sees Real Madrid as Manchester City's direct rivals in Europe and doesn't see the Blaugrana at the same level.
Manchester City and Real Madrid have collided in the Champions League semifinals three times since the start of the 2015-16 season. Los Blancos have won both of those semi-final encounters and will be looking to repeat the feat later this month.
Lionel Messi advised against Barcelona return by Real Madrid legend
Real Madrid legend Guti has urged Lionel Messi not to return to Barcelona as he has already achieved everything with them.
The Argentina icon joined La Masia in 2000 and won every major trophy in club football in the 21 years that followed. He signed a two-year deal with Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in 2021, which is due to expire this summer.
There are no indications that the 35-year-old will pen fresh terms at the Parc des Princes and an emotional return to Spotify Camp Nou has been heavily touted. However, not everyone is on board with the idea of his fairytale return to Barca.
Guti, who spent 24 years on Real Madrid's books as a player since joining their youth academy in 1984, said on El Chiringuito TV, via BarcaUniversal:
"If I were Messi, I wouldn’t go back to Barcelona. He already achieved everything there. It’s too big of a challenge at this moment. Now, with or without him, Barça won’t win the Champions League."
Barca were eliminated from the UEFA Champions League group stages earlier this season - the same fate they suffered in the last campaign.