Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has revealed why Portugal international Joao Cancelo moved to Bayern Munich on loan. In a recent interview, Guardiola spoke about the defender and explained why he was loaned out.
Cancelo joined Manchester City after impressing at Juventus in 2019 and has been a reliable defender for the reigning Premier League champions. He has made over 156 appearances with Man City, scoring nine goals and providing 22 assists in the process.
He was part of Portugal's squad for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, but things did not go according to plan for the right-back after that. He found himself struggling for game time after the World Cup break. Guardiola spoke about the situation and said:
“First I wish him the very best, at the end of the season… next season I don’t know what’s going to happen. He’s been an incredible figure in last two PLs.”
The City manager also spoke about the reasons behind Cancelo's lack of playing time. He stated:
“After World Cup he didn’t play, we played in a different way, I liked it and I gave minutes to others who played in that different way. Everyone has their own character, personality, he likes to play, loves to play.”
Guardiola was keen to ensure that Cancelo could get the playing time he deserved, and with that in mind, a loan move to Bayern Munich was agreed upon. The Manchester City manager said:
“He can’t be happy if he’s not playing so we decide for him to go to Munich. He wants to play every single game and hopefully that can happen in Munich.”
However, City fans are unhappy with the move as the Portuguese defender has been consistent throughout his time in the Premier League.
The 28-year-old dynamic defender got an assist in the 17th minute of his Bayern Munich debut in a 4-0 win over Mainz at DFB-Pokal, showing why he is rated highly amongst his peers.
Manchester City add 20-year-old Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone to their Champions League squad
Manchester City have added young Argentine midfielder Maximo Perrone to their Champions League squad, as per Fabrizio Romano. The 20-year-old recently joined the club from Velez for a €9 million deal and will wear the number 32 jersey for the Citizens.
Pep Guardiola has shown faith in the talented midfielder by including him in the Champions League squad, indicating that he believes Perrone has what it takes to play at the highest level.
The addition of Perrone adds more depth to the already strong Manchester City squad and fans will be eager to see the Argentine in action soon.