Following claims on Wednesday that Barcelona were going to try their best to extend the loan deal struck last summer with Manchester City for João Cancelo, Sport in Spain now claim that won’t be happening.
The outlet took to their website to reveal that the Etihad side ‘do not want to’ take anything other than a permanent sale into consideration and ‘will go on the market’ to find a suitor for the right-back.
Manchester City ‘will sell to the highest bidder’, and that could be from clubs in the Premier League or even Saudi Arabia.
Manchester City, down their end, are in ‘no rush to get rid’ of the Portuguese, as they have him under contract until 2027 but have no intention of using him.
They value the defender at ‘around €40m’ and they are expecting offers to come in for him, with the knowledge that clubs in England and Saudi Arabia are there, therefore meaning no discounts in their price.
That fee is ‘unaffordable’ for Barcelona, and they will ‘not even want to get close’ to it, having needs elsewhere, such as a left-footed winger and a midfielder.
The most they can try and do is through Jorge Mendes somehow working a miracle and agreeing a ‘hybrid formula of a loan with a conditional purchase option’.
Unlikely to say the least.
