Joao Cancelo, a fullback for Manchester City, has made an unexpected transfer to Bayern Munich on a loan agreement till the end of the season with an option to purchase.
Before the January transfer window closes, Cancelo, 28, is anticipated to complete his medicals.
Cancelo has had difficult weeks at Manchester City this season, with limited playing time, especially after returning from the World Cup. This unexpected departure came as a result of his lack of game time at City.
The agreement includes a buy option valued at £61.5 million (€70 million).
The interest from Bayern is reportedly conveyed to City by Cancelo’s representation. Due to the superb performances of Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis at full-back and the rise of City, Cancelo was given permission to leave.
The Portuguese player once played frequently for Pep Guardiola’s dominant City team, but recently he has seen less action.
With the team, he has won a League Cup and two Premier League championships. He played a big part in Manchester City winning the UEFA Champions League for the first time in 2020–21.
Joao Cancelo
Joo Pedro Cavaco Cancelo, a Portuguese professional football player on loan from Manchester City and the Portugal national team, plays as a fullback or wingback for Bundesliga club Bayern Munich. He was born on May 27, 1994.
One of the top full-backs in the world, he is a creative, skilled, powerful, and adaptable player.
Cancelo joined Benfica’s reserve squad in 2012 after graduating from the club’s development academy, and he was elevated to the first team two years later.
Later, he was on loan to La Liga team Valencia for the 2014–15 campaign, and Los Ches made the transfer permanent in the summer of 2015.
Cancelo spent the 2017–18 Serie A season on loan with Inter Milan, where he was named to the league’s Team of the Year.
Juventus, an Italian rival team, were interested in Cancelo as a result of his achievements, and they signed him in 2018 for a reported sum of €40.4 million.
Cancelo won the league and the Supercoppa Italiana in his first and only season with the Bianconeri.
He was acquired by English club Manchester City in 2019 for an alleged sum of €60 million (£55 million), which included the transfer of Danilo to Juventus.
Since then, he has won a League Cup and two Premier League championships with the team. He played a crucial part in Manchester City’s first journey to the UEFA Champions League final in the 2020–21 season.
Cancelo earned his Portugal senior team debut in 2016 after previously earning 75 caps for the country’s minor teams and tallying three goals.
Additionally, he competed for Portugal’s under-21 squad in 2015, which advanced to the UEFA European Championship Final.
He was selected to play for Portugal in the 2019 UEFA Nations League Finals on home soil, when his country won the competition’s inaugural season.
Why Is Cancelo Joining Bayern Munich?
Despite being a crucial member of City’s starting eleven up until recently, the 28-year-old has lost favor with manager Pep Guardiola.
In the previous two seasons, Cancelo was named to the PFA Premier League Squad of the Year, which helped Guardiola’s team win the Premier League.
Guardiola has overhauled his backline at the Etihad, putting his trust and confidence in 18-year-old defender Rico Lewis, who was born in Bury.
In recent games for City, fellow defenders Kyle Walker, John Stones, and Nathan Ake have all been chosen over Cancelo at full-back.
According to reports, Cancelo’s agents alerted City to Bayern’s interest, and given Ake and Lewis’s full-back performances, Manchester United was ready to approve the loan transfer.
Due to Noussair Mazraoui’s injury and the possibility that Benjamin Pavard would leave in the summer due to Barcelona’s interest in acquiring him, the German club has chosen to sign him.
It will be a loan that lasts through the end of the current campaign with a potential buyout clause.
It’s unclear at this time whether Manchester City will choose to add another left back before the transfer window closes.
Joao Cancelo arrived in Munich on Monday 30th January for a physical with less than 48 hours left in the transfer window. If the deal closes before the deadline, he may play for Bayern in the German Cup match against Mainz on Wednesday.
