Currently on loan at Barcelona from Manchester City, João Cancelo is a persona non-grata at the Premier League club as long as Pep Guardiola remains in charge.
That’s been made very clear a number of times in the Spanish media, and with the Catalan club set to face Napoli in the Champions League, Gazzetta dello Sport took the chance to sit down with the Portuguese defender and have a chat.
Among the many questions, many revolving around the upcoming fixture, the newspaper wanted to know whether the player’s future was going to be at Manchester City or Barcelona.
He replied: “I don’t know anything, but I would like to stay here. I grew up admiring Ronaldinho’s Barça, my idol. For me, it is a pride to wear this shirt, and there aren’t many other clubs I can go to, right? (Laughs)”
This came off the back of a question where he was asked about his career to date, having played for Benfica, Valencia, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona, all before the age of 30.
The full-back explained he’s ‘very proud’ of his path and career, calling it the ‘fruit of sacrifice’.
It has been revealed in the Spanish media that Barcelona would ideally like to keep the Manchester City man, but their finances prevent them from doing so permanently, hoping for a second loan.
That’s not something the Premier League side appear prepared to do, but Jorge Mendes is said to be on the case, and he tends to make things happen.
