Manchester City defender reveals disagreements with Pep Guardiola leading to broken future

Manchester City’s on-loan defender Joao Cancelo has shone some light on his relationship with Pep Guardiola that ultimately led to his exit from the club.

The Portugal international’s position at the Etihad Stadium first broke down midway through the Treble-winning season of 2022/23, leaving the club on a six-month loan deal to Bayern Munich following the emergence of Rico Lewis in the first-team set-up.

Cancelo’s return to Manchester was met with some surprise in the summer, as he took part in the club’s pre-season tour of far-east Asia. However, there was to be no comeback season for the full-back, leaving for FC Barcelona on a season-long agreement just a few weeks later.

However, there has been some element of secrecy over the player’s breakdown in relationship with some within the football club, while some reports have speculated a fall-out between the player and manager Pep Guardiola.

Speaking to Portuguese outlet RTP Noticias, as translated and relayed by the Mirror, Joao Cancelo explained on the subject of his relationship with Guardiola, “There are things we didn’t agree on, we’re not obligated to agree on everything.”

The on-loan Barcelona man continued, “I had things I didn’t agree on or he didn’t agree with something I said, it was just that. But I don’t have resentment, I am very grateful. Life goes on, I am very, very happy here.”

Pep Guardiola is unlikely to welcome back Cancelo into his set-up following the conclusion of the ongoing season, and despite being contracted to the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2027, the Portugal international is expected to leave on a permanent deal.

That agreement could be harder to come by than perhaps first anticipated, with his current club Barcelona struggling to finance a move for the former Juventus and Valencia wing-back amid their ongoing issues in that department.

City could yet field offers from other clubs across Europe, while the Saudi Arabian football project continues to invest significantly in some of the finest talents in the game, and not just at the tail-end of careers as seen through the purchase of Aymeric Laporte last summer.