PEP GUARDIOLA has stunningly opened the door for Joao Cancelo to return to Manchester City.
The Portuguese defender, 30, left the Etihad on loan last January – joining German giants Bayern Munich – following a reported row with his gaffer.
GETTYJoao Cancelo spent the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan at Bayern Munich[/caption]
GETTYThe Portugal star spent the 2023/24 season out on loan with Barcelona[/caption]
GETTYPep Guardiola has opened the door for the 30-year-old to return to Manchester City[/caption]
He returned to Eastlands last summer for pre-season but was sent out on another loan to Barcelona.
Barca are keen to retain his services, which Guardiola has suggested he himself will have no problem utilising should a deal fail to come to fruition.
The 53-year-old said: “It has to be the best for everyone. The two clubs will sit down.
“He is our player and, if an agreement is not reached, he will have to return in the pre-season.
“If he wants to stay here [at Barcelona], and the clubs agree, it will be done again.”
Suggestions his back-to-back loan spells were the result of an explosive bust-up with Guardiola enraged Cancelo, who told ABola: “Lies were told!
“I’ve never been a bad teammate for them and you can ask either [Nathan] Ake or Rico [Lewis].
“I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that’s the manager’s opinion.”
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The Portugal international added: “I was [saddened] because it wasn’t true.
“I think Man City were a bit ungrateful to me when they said that, because I was a very important player in the years I was there.
“I never failed in my commitment to the club, to the fans and I always gave everything.
“I remember a time when I was robbed and attacked and the next day I was playing at the Emirates against Arsenal.
“These are things you don’t forget, I left my wife and my daughter alone at home, terrified.
“People will only remember this because Mister Guardiola has much more strength than me when he says something and I prefer to keep to myself.
“I prefer to know that I am telling the truth, I feel fulfilled with what I did.
“I am a transparent person, I never lie.”