Currently on loan from Manchester City, Joao Cancelo’s future remains uncertain as the summer transfer season approaches, especially with the Spanish team’s ongoing managerial selection process.
Having fallen out with his original club, Cancelo was first loaned to Bayern Munich during City’s treble-winning campaign and then to Barcelona this season. Under Xavi Hernandez, he has made 41 appearances and contributed to eight goals.
Cancelo is set to return to Manchester City, where he still has three years left on his contract, once his loan spell ends.
Despite this, discussions about his departure are likely to resume, even though it seems improbable at the moment.
When City and Barcelona finalized last summer’s loan agreement, it did not include an option for Barcelona to purchase Cancelo outright.
This has led to conflicting rumors over the months, with the latest suggesting that he won’t be returning to Camp Nou.
Spanish daily SPORT reports that Xavi will not continue as Barcelona’s manager, and his likely successor, Hansi Flick, does not favor Cancelo.
Flick prefers to look for other options in the transfer market, as he does not believe Cancelo fits his defensive strategy.
Flick’s strategy highlights the club’s tendency to rely on the loan market rather than making long-term acquisitions.
This marks a significant shift from earlier in the year when Xavi intended to step down but was persuaded to stay by the board.
Xavi’s continuation would have likely meant a second loan for Cancelo, but this option seems to disappear with Flick taking over and establishing trust with the club.
This shift also reflects changing opinions about Cancelo, who was once seen as a top player, key to Pep Guardiola’s title-winning teams in 2020-21 and 2021-22.
Manchester City will now be looking for potential partners to either arrange a third consecutive loan for Cancelo or, preferably, recover as much of the £60 million they spent on him in 2019.