Joao Cancelo’s departure from Manchester City for Bayern Munich is one of the most surprising transfers in football.
Given the sudden nature of everything and the size of the club and the players involved, questions are inevitable.
With so few full-backs, why would City allow one of the best players in the squad to leave with no intention of replacing them?
Will City sign a replacement? (It’s easy: no.)
So why did things go from bad to worse so quickly throughout January that City would be better off playing the second half of the season without a Cancelo?
There wasn’t one big flashpoint that led to this result, but a series of minor incidents and a general pattern of behavior City deemed disruptive that began after their return from the World Cup.
The 28-year-old’s reaction when he faced Arsenal in the FA Cup on Friday night was a match he didn’t play after being ruled out of City XI for the third straight game. He returned to Pep Guardiola. A move to Bayern was hastily arranged over the weekend.
This led to events unraveling throughout January, with a loan deal agreed on Monday, giving the Bundesliga champions a €70m (£61.6m, $76.3m) purchase option.
Chelsea Away, 5 January — ‘Cancero was furious’
At the heart of this issue is the fact that Cancello doesn’t like it when he’s not playing football and doesn’t hide his feelings particularly well. In fact, just a few months after spending time at City, he was considering leaving for Barcelona, citing lack of playing time, but ended up staying.
A year later, at the end of the 2020–21 season, he was one of many players who had frustrated Guardiola, expressing his displeasure at being left out of the squad. Despite missing out on the second leg and the final, his feelings were clear.
After Cancelo signed for City in 2019, athletic Speaking to some of his former coaches and others who have followed his career, such a result was not entirely unexpected.
It’s been known for some time that he’s “like a volcano,” according to a source close to the City. Even those close to him are unhappy when he is left out of the game and do not object to him speaking his mind.
The Portuguese came back from the World Cup in a funk after not playing as much as he would have liked. I was there.
During the World Cup, the Portuguese newspaper Record ran an article titled ‘Cancero is haunted by a sense of unfairness’, and while he was sitting on the bench in the round of 16 match against Switzerland, he said, ‘Frustration. was written all over his face,” he said.
Like the rest of City, including Kyle Walker and Phil Foden, Cancelo quickly got back on track after returning from Qatar. All three started at Stamford Bridge on 5 January, but Walker and Cancelo withdrew at half-time.
“I’m sorry Joao, I asked him to play in a position he’s not used to,” Guardiola said afterwards.
Cancelo was furious. His teammates tried to calm him down in the dressing room, but it all went downhill in the end.
Another source close to the team said, “We excel when we’re in a good mood.” “When he’s in a bad mood, he’s a bad boy. He thinks he’s the best and doesn’t accept any advice or correction.”
Sources close to Cancelo say he’s a good person with a kind heart, which is backed up by many of his teammates.
Southampton away, 11 January — the lowest point on the pitch
Cancelo was put back on the bench a few days later in the FA Cup against Chelsea, but that did little to improve his mood. It was also evident in training.
As in previous situations of this kind, his emotions were clear and the coaching staff felt that he had more impact on his performance levels during City’s preparation than immediately after his return from Qatar.
As part of the process to get him back to his best form, Guardiola started Cancelo at right-back at Southampton in the Carabao Cup and chose Walker at centre-back. Walker was replaced again at half-time and Cancelo played the entire game.
His performance was a low point, but Guardiola stuck with him in the Manchester derby a few days later.
But then John Stones came back into contention after a brief absence and proved himself to be one of City’s relatively few solid performers following the World Cup.Nathan Ake was also in that group. and given the application of Cancello in training during that period, he was an obvious candidate to give way.
Tottenham and Wolves at home on January 19 and 22 — from bus to bench, alone
Cancello was then left out of the 4–2 comeback win against Tottenham. This match was perhaps the more memorable for Guardiola’s very public attempt to correct the complacency that had crept into the team.
Cancelo wasn’t the only target of Guardiola’s wrath.
After the Spurs game, the City players had no doubt about Cancello’s feelings. The fact that he lost a place to 18-year-old Rico Ruiz, who had made the right-back position his own since the World Cup, was a major source of surprise.
At this point, Guardiola and his staff became particularly concerned, as they felt that Cancelo’s actions were beginning to affect the group.
Of course, one person’s “destructive influence” is another’s “strong personality,” and Cancello would dispute this.
The coaching staff noticed the poor body language. This may not be the most serious crime in football, but it meant a serious violation of Guardiola’s ‘don’t look bad’ policy.
Cancelo was known to be a reluctant understudy and didn’t act the way Guardiola wanted him to when he wasn’t in the team (Photo by Martin Rickett/PA Images via Getty Images)
When Cancelo was named to the bench against the Wolves, his feelings didn’t stop in the dressing room. As soon as the Etihad arrived at his stadium, he walked the team from his bus to the home dugout and sat on a bench by himself. This surpassed previous incidents over the past few years.
Ayke was left on the bench for that match, but it was Aymeric Laporte who played for Lewis on the right and at left-back.
Lewis was substituted at half-time, but it was Ake, not Walker or Cancelo, who came on as a substitute.
Arsenal at home, 27 January — ‘He didn’t pay attention in the meeting’
Over the past year at City, Gabriel Jesus, Oleksandr Zinchenko, Bernardo Silva and Ake have left or were about to leave the team, essentially laughing through the pain.
Cancelo could never put up with such a scenario, and if City were willing to let go of the team’s more jovial figures, they would do so for someone deemed more disruptive.
Guardiola’s former assistant, Juamma Lillo, was a key figure in City’s Cancelo in that regard, and if there was a disagreement with the manager, he was usually able to calm him down. I left for
It would be easy to dismiss Cancelo as a bad character, but it would be tough if he got emotional when not playing and caused problems at some of his clubs.
Guardiola emphasized how Cancelo shares the same childlike love of football as Foden, who always has the ball with him.On January 1, 2022, Cancelo will join Arsenal The night before, in front of his wife and young daughter, he was attacked by four intruders intent on stealing jewelry.
He’s a strong but complicated character, and last week he asked his agent, Jorge Mendes, to find him a move.
Things came to a head when Guardiola ruled him out against Arsenal on Friday. Afterwards, the staff felt that Cancelo was not paying attention in tactical meetings and not listening to instructions from his coaches.
Guardiola and his staff have had enough. After several weeks of similar incidents and behavior, they felt he needed to move on.
After the game, Guardiola was asked about Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta’s decision to put some key players on the bench. “Bernardo didn’t play. Kyle Walker didn’t play. Mr. Cancelo didn’t play,” he replied. “If we lose, why would they say they didn’t play?”
I had to read between the lines to expect a transfer in the next 48 hours, but “Mr. Cancelo” is a pretty big hint of the situation.
Such was the case when we discussed Ake’s recent form.
Halfway through his argument, the idea seemed to have crossed Guardiola that someone might not be entirely happy with the emergence of a new left-back, but he let it go.
In hindsight, these examples resemble the March 2021 post-match interviews. Guardiola said: The rest will be on the bench.” It soon became clear that Raheem Sterling had questioned his team selection that day and was left out of the squad for the following game.
On Saturday, Cancello posted a photo on her Instagram story with the words, “Don’t let anyone lose your shine.”
Cancelo and Guardiola have talked and agreed that a transfer is the best option. Once it was decided, Bayern Munich was in a sense lucky to come forward.
On the one hand, City’s decision to leave their star left-back halfway through the season, six months after leaving Zinchenko, has left them with a clear lack of options and with no replacement in the lineup. It can cost you a season.This guy is a player that can be seen from one person. athletic I spoke for this article as a decision maker in the final third more than most forwards.
On the other hand, if Cancelo remained, he decided that the team would have been adversely affected. Had Bayern not signed him, there would have been other issues to resolve.
Cancello has won two Premier League titles and the League Cup with Manchester City (Photo by Tom Lashers/Manchester City FC via Getty Images)
It’s by no means an ideal scenario, but with Ake and Lewis, City have covered full-backs they didn’t necessarily expect in the summer, and given the circumstances, they’d rather move forward this way.
Bayern have been huge Cancelo fans for several years and are delighted to have signed an unexpected player. On Wednesday it will be a year since Cancelo signed his two-year contract extension with City.
Cancelo may not return to Manchester, despite a clause that would make his €70m deal permanent in the summer, with German reports claiming Bayern are considering signing a deal for less. high.
Things unraveled very quickly.