“We are interested” – President reveals Manchester City have told club what they need to sign player

Manchester City’s João Cancelo has been on loan at Barcelona since the summer and his stay at the Camp Nou could be extended beyond this season.

That’s according to Barcelona president Joan Laporta and he made this claim during an interview with EFE, relayed by AS.

Apart from the Manchester City owned player, the La Liga side had also signed João Félix on a loan deal from Atlético Madrid in the last window.

Both the right-back and the forward are represented by super-agent Jorge Mendes and the Catalan club have a firm desire to retain them beyond their loan spells.

Laporta feels optimistic and revealed that both Pep Guardiola’s side and Los Rojiblancos have made the conditions clear to buy the 29-year-old and Félix respectively.

“The players’ agent is the same, and the two clubs [Manchester City and Atlético Madrid], with whom we have a good relationship and know each other a lot, have already guided us as to what the steps are for the operations to be concluded, so that they join Barcelona,” he said.

“We are interested in them not being on loan, but rather belonging to the squad. Let’s see how it evolves. It’ll be addressed in due course. I believe that both the Cancelo operation and that of Félix are operations that all parties will be satisfied with.”

Earlier this month,  Mundo Deportivo stated the player feels his career at Manchester City is over. Cancelo’s deal at the Etihad is until 2027 and his relationship with the Citizens manager has strained since the start of this year.

The Portugal international defender has scored three goals and registered two assists from 20 games this season for Barca.