Pep Guardiola hints Joao Cancelo’s return to first-team squad

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has given a fresh update on Joao Cancelo, who spent the last season on loan at Barcelona and has been linked with an exit this summer. The Portuguese defender is under contract with City until the summer of 2027.

His relationship with Guardiola soured in the second half of the 2022/23 season, which led to his loan moves to Bayern Munich and then Barcelona. Cancelo is eager to return to Barcelona, but the Catalan giants are yet to table an offer for the Portuguese international.

In a recent press conference, Pep Guardiola hinted that there could be a way back for Cancelo to the first team after he resumed training with the Manchester City first team.

“João Cancelo to re-join our squad? It can happen, yes,” he told reporters.

“He’s training with us. We will see. Maybe he stays, maybe he goes on loan, maybe… I don’t know yet.

“He’s training with us, behaving really well in the training sessions.”