Two days ago, Xavi Hernández told TV3 that Manchester City blocked João Cancelo’s move to Barcelona in the winter market. The defender ended up joining Bayern Munich on loan in the same window and is now set to return to the Etihad.
The La Liga side are still keen to sign the 29-year-old in the summer but Xavi’s comments could cause them ‘problems with City’.
That’s according to AS, who explain that Manchester City are surprised by the Barca coach’s comments about Cancelo.
The Citizens insist they not only didn’t veto the move but also asked the fullback’s agent, Jorge Mendes, to prioritise a transfer to the Catalan club. Mendes found out the Blaugrana weren’t able to offer a deal that Bayern proposed to his client.
Pep Guardiola’s side believe Xavi could have been given this [wrong information as per the English champions] information through intermediaries because none of their officials have had direct contact with him on this topic.
Xavi had also complained that there’s a section within the club who don’t recognise his work he has done so far. This refers to those at Barcelona who are hoping for Guaridola’s return to the Camp Nou.
Despite the connections between Manchester City and Barca, the relationship between the two clubs is ‘not going through its best moment’.
Barca are keen to sign İlkay Gündoğan, whose contract at the Etihad expires in June.
The report states Manchester City ‘could make a counter offer’ to the midfielder, to ‘make things more complicated’ for Xavi’s side to sign him for free in the summer.
The Spanish giants are having ‘problems with City’ and it may have an impact on their summer deals involving Gündoğan and Cancelo.
