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Bayern Munich have signed Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo on loan with an option to make the transfer permanent this summer for €70 million.
ESPN reported on Monday that Cancelo was keen to leave Premier League champions City after growing frustrated with his lack of playing time.
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The 28-year-old was a regular in Pep Guardiola’s team at the beginning of the season but has started just five of the past 14 games in all competitions. A dip in form also saw him lose his place for Portugal during the World Cup in Qatar. Sources told ESPN that Guardiola is open to letting Cancelo leave after being impressed with Rico Lewis‘ emergence and with Nathan Ake‘s performance at left-back.
“FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best in the world, and it’s enormous motivation for me to now play alongside these extraordinary players in a team,” Cancelo said in a statement.
“I know that this club, this team lives for titles and wins titles every year. I’m also driven by the hunger for success. I’ll give my best for FC Bayern.”
Sources told ESPN that City are unlikely to try to replace Cancelo, with Guardiola feeling he has enough cover at full-back and centre-back to cope without him during the second half of the season. City remain in the hunt for trophies in the Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Cancelo arrived at the Etihad Stadium from Juventus in 2019 and was key to Premier League title wins in 2021 and 2022. Last season, he made 52 appearances in all competitions and featured in 36 of City’s 38 league matches.
🔴⚪ Hier mag euch jemand 𝓢𝓮𝓻𝓿𝓾𝓼 sagen! 👀✌️ #ServusJoão
🔗 https://t.co/Zl8900o30p#MiaSanMia #FCBayern pic.twitter.com/OppwjX5TW6
— FC Bayern München (@FCBayern) January 31, 2023
He was also named in the Premier League team of the year in both 2021 and 2022.
Bayern board member Hasan Salihamidzic said: “We’re very happy that Joao Cancelo will now play for FC Bayern. We’ve signed him on loan now and have the possibility of signing him permanently in the summer.
“Joao is a player we’ve been thinking about for a while now because we very much appreciate his qualities. He’s the optimal fit in our system with his attacking style of play and dynamism, and his mentality and experience fit very well in our team. I’m convinced João will help us in the coming weeks and months where we want to win titles.”