João Cancelo made a surprising exit from Manchester City in January 2023, joining Bayern Munich on loan. However, the Bundesliga club opted not to make the move permanent, leading Cancelo to spend the remainder of last season on loan at Barcelona.
While Barcelona is eager to bring Cancelo back on loan, the Portuguese full-back, who hasn’t featured for City in 18 months, has returned to training under Pep Guardiola for the time being.
“He’s training with us,” Guardiola told a news conference on Friday. “We will see, maybe stay, maybe go on loan. I don’t know yet. He’s training with us, behaving really well in the training sessions. He loves to play football. We will see.”
Asked whether he could play for City again, Guardiola said: “It can happen, yeah.”
Cancelo has twice been named in the PFA Premier League team of the year and was a key part of City’s title wins in 2021 and 2022.
He has a contract at the Etihad Stadium until 2027 and while he’s still available for transfer, it’s not certain a move will materialise.
“In training we say hello and talk,” Guardiola said. “About what’s going to happen, it depends on his agents and the club. In the end, if he has to stay we will treat him like all the other players like we have done since I have been here.
“With respect, and try to take the best for his huge qualities that he has. I never doubt his qualities for one second. But I don’t know what is going to happen.”
Guardiola hasn’t dismissed the chance of Manchester City making another signing before the transfer deadline following the departures of Julián Álvarez and Oscar Bobb.
Álvarez, who netted 19 goals last season, has moved to Atletico Madrid, while Bobb is sidelined for three to four months due to a broken leg sustained in training.
“Maybe [another player will arrive] but maybe not,” Guardiola said. “We will see. I am really pleased with the squad I have. I know the vibe is ‘we have to sign.’ We will see.
“I am really pleased with the squad I have, the players I have. I said, we will see what happens in the market. We can continue in that way, or maybe we will add some players. I cannot say.”