Agent of Manchester City star reveals exit intention ahead of summer transfer window

The agent of Manchester City and Portugal international defender Joao Cancelo has revealed the intentions of Barcelona ahead of the summer transfer window.

The full-back is currently on loan at the La Liga giants from Pep Guardiola’s squad having fallen out of favour with the Manchester City manager midway through last season’s historic Treble-winning campaign.

An initial six-month loan deal to Bayern Munich during the 2023 January transfer window saw Rico Lewis excel in a revamped inverted full-back role before the Bavarian club would ultimately opt against making their agreement permanent at the end of the campaign.

Now with the player excelling at Barcelona in pursuit of European and Spanish top-flight glory this season under manager Xavi, it is being debated whether the Catalan club will be able to finance a permanent deal at the end of the loan agreement this summer.

Speaking this week in a wide-ranging interview with Portuguese newspaper Record, as translated and relayed by Sport Witness, Jorge Mendes was quizzed on the Barcelona future of Joao Felix, before continuing on to briefly discuss the similar situation of Joao Cancelo.

“Barcelona want to keep him permanently,” Mendes said of Felix. “Also (Joao Cancelo). Like Bernardo Silva, he’s the best in the world in his position.”

At present it remains unknown as to what Manchester City would demand for the player should any club look to sign Joao Cancelo on a permanent deal this summer, however previous reports have pointed towards a fee in the region of £60 million.

Joao Cancelo is currently under contract at the Etihad Stadium until the summer of 2027, meaning the reigning Premier League champions still retain a high-level of value on the player and as such could restrict his options somewhat when the market reopens in summer.

Whether or not Manchester City look to recruit a right-back in the event of a permanent sale of Cancelo also remains to be seen, however there has been some talk of tenuous interest in first-team development for Yan Couto – currently on loan at Girona.