Joao Cancelo, the Portuguese professional footballer, has joined Bayern Munich on loan, in a move that might have spelled the end of his career at Manchester City.
On Tuesday, Manchester City released a statement announcing the transfer of the 28-year-old right-back, who had been a Cityzen since 2019.
The statement read: “Joao Cancelo has joined Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season.”
The loan deal, which runs until the end of the 2022/23 campaign, has the option for the German club to make it a permanent transfer for £61.5 million.
Cancelo’s transfer to Bayern comes after a breakdown in his relationship with City manager, Pep Guardiola.
The two had a falling out after Guardiola left Cancelo on the bench for the past three City matches, citing a dip in the player’s performance since the World Cup. This led to Cancelo being angry and seeking a new club through his agent, Jorge Mendes.
In his time at Manchester City, Cancelo made 154 appearances and played a pivotal role in helping the club secure two Premier League titles and a Carabao Cup.
Despite the recent events, Cancelo showed gratitude to the club and its fans by posting a video on his Instagram account, with the caption: “Once a Cityzen, always a Cityzen. Thank-you.”
Bayern Munich sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, expressed his excitement at the new addition, saying: “We’re very happy that Joao Cancelo will now play for FC Bayern. We’ve signed him on loan now and have the possibility of signing him permanently in the summer.”
“Joao is a player we’ve been thinking about for a while now because we very much appreciate his qualities. He’s the optimal fit in our system with his attacking style of play and dynamism.”
Cancelo shared his own thoughts on joining Bayern, telling the club’s website: “FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best in the world, and it’s enormous motivation for me to now play alongside these extraordinary players.”
“I know that this club, this team, lives for titles and wins titles every year. I’m also driven by the hunger for success. I‘ll give my best for FC Bayern.”
With Cancelo gone, Manchester City is not seeking a replacement in the remaining hours of the January transfer window.
Manager Guardiola will continue to rely on a backline made up of Lewis, Sergio Gomez, Nathan Ake, Kyle Walker, and Aymeric Laporte.
At Bayern, Cancelo will finally get the game time he has been craving.
The club has been searching for a right-back since Benjamin Pavard has been increasingly used in central defence and Noussair Mazrouai is currently injured.
Currently, Bayern is leading the Bundesliga table by one point, but RB Leipzig, Borussia Dortmund, and Freiburg are all within three points of the Bavarian giants after 18 games.
