Manchester City and Pep Guardiola reject opportunity to sign Barcelona star

Manchester City turned down the chance to sign Joao Felix on two occasions during the summer transfer window.

The 23-year-old, who spent several months at Chelsea on loan from Atletico Madrid during the 2022/23 campaign, moved to Barcelona on a season-long loan last month.

Felix completed a Deadline Day switch to Catalonia alongside Manchester City’s Joao Cancelo, where the Portugal international has been directly involved in six goals during eight appearances.

The forward joined former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan at the Camp Nou, after the German international completed a free transfer to La Liga, having rejected a new contract at the Etihad Stadium.

Gundogan was amongst the high profile departures from Manchester City during the recent summer transfer window, with Riyad Mahrez and Cole Palmer also leaving Pep Guardiola’s treble-winning squad.

Manchester City welcomed four new players to the Etihad Stadium this summer, including the arrival of Jeremy Doku, who has enjoyed an impressive start to life at the Blues after signing from Stade Rennais.

Mateo Kovacic and Matheus Nunes also moved to Manchester City, with the club forced to return to the transfer market after Kevin De Bruyne suffered a serious hamstring injury on the opening weekend of the Premier League campaign.

Sport Witness claim that Manchester City rejected the opportunity to sign Joao Felix after the Belgian’s hamstring injury, with the club turning down the chance to move for the 23-year-old on two occasions.

Guardiola reportedly ‘did not show any interest’ in signing Felix, despite the player’s agent Jorge Mendes offering the forward to the Manchester City manager.

Both Mendes and Felix failed to convince Manchester City, with Manchester United and Benfica also opting out of a deal for the Portuguese international.

Guardiola has previously praised Felix, with Manchester City having come up against the 23-year-old during the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals in 2022.

The Blues turned down the chance to sign Felix on two occasions, prior to the forward signing for Barcelona on a season-long loan.