PL star willing to reduce his salary in order to re-join Barcelona - Reports
Joao Cancelo is reportedly willing to lower his salary if it means he can leave Manchester City to join Barcelona. He has had a tough time in Manchester ever since his apparent disagreement with Pep Guardiola over playing time.
A six-month loan spell at Bayern Munich was immediately followed by a one-year temporary stint at Barcelona in the 2023-24 season. He is now back at the Etihad, where he is contracted for three more years, but his future still remains very much up in the air.
Cancelo, who moved to Manchester City in 2019 from Juventus, currently rakes in £250,000 per week at the Etihad. But a report from Sport (via @BarcaUniversal on X) claims that he is willing to take a cut on that amount to return to the Catalan giants.
Recent reports also claim that cash-strapped Barca are interested in Cancelo but can only afford a loan transfer. The English giants, however, apparently want to offload the 30-year-old defender permanently, with Juventus and Inter Milan also interested in acquiring his services.
Although he has nine goals and 21 assists in 154 City appearances to his name, he hasn't played for them since January 2023. Cancelo most recently featured at the 2024 UEFA Euros, where he started four of his team's five matches before they were eliminated in the quarter-finals on penalties against France.
Joao Cancelo already took a pay-cut to play for Barcelona last season
Joao Cancelo took a pay-cut to join Barcelona on a season-long loan last term, pocketing £202,000-a-week at the Spotify Camp Nou. He had a largely successful spell under Xavi Hernandez, registering four goals and five assists in 42 appearances across competitions.
Cancelo spoke about his move to Barca last season and said he wasn't worried about taking a pay-cut to play for the Catalan giants. He even stated that he didn't regret his six-month loan spell at Bayern Munich in spite of the fact that Manchester City won the UEFA Champions League that season.
Cancelo told Portuguese outlet A Bola in March (via Football365):
"I have no regrets [about joining Bayern Munich], even if City won the Champions League. I feel like I made the right choice, that I went to a club that really wanted me, even before renewing my contract.
"It was a club that gave me a lot in the six months I was there. I dealt with great players and the club is spectacular. Then I came here, lowered my salary and I’m not bothered by it in the slightest. This was the third time I was about to come to Barcelona and I’m finally here", he added.
Although he won the Bundesliga with the Bavarian club, Cancelo returned from Barcelona without any silverware.