Joao Cancelo is unlikely to be reintegrated into the Manchester City first team next season, with several of Europe’s top sides interested in taking him off their hands, sources have told 90min.
The Portugal international was surprisingly sent on loan to Bayern Munich for the second half of the 2022/23 season, and City fans booed Cancelo when he came on as a substitute during Bayern’s Champions League quarter-final defeat at the Etihad Stadium in April.
28-year-old Cancelo initially struggled to nail down a place under Julian Nagelsmann but has since become more of a regular with Thomas Tuchel at the helm. Bayern retain a €70m option to buy Cancelo once his loan expires this summer but they have publicly insisted this price is too steep.
90min understands that the German champions would like to keep hold of the versatile full-back, however.
In addition to Bayern, other major clubs across the continent are interested in Cancelo. Barcelona have been monitoring his situation and it’s understood they would enter the race for his signature if they could sign him on an initial loan first.
Arsenal are also keen on Cancelo. Mikel Arteta briefly worked with him during their respective times at Manchester City and the Spaniard believes that he could slot nicely into the Gunners’ current tactical setup.
Real Madrid are also in the market for a right-back with their options thin beyond the veteran Dani Carvajal, and Cancelo’s camp have been exploring the Santiago Bernabeu as a possible landing spot.
Cancelo arrived at City in 2019 on a long-term contract, joining from Juventus in a deal that sent Danilo the other way. He became the most expensive right-back in history in the process, but initially struggled to dislodge Kyle Walker from the side and played a bit-part role.
He showed his versatility to eventually command a regular spot at left-back, shuffling between the two positions as helped City win back-to-back Premier League titles in 2020/21 and 2021/22.
Source: 90min.com