‘He is lying’, ‘just keeping options open’ – Man City fans react as Joao Cancelo denies falling out with Pep Guardiola

Joan Cancelo has opened the door to a return to Manchester City in the summer while dismissing talk of a fallout with Pep Guardiola as a “lie”.

The Portuguese joined Bayern Munich on loan for the rest of the season, and the German champions have the option to make the deal permanent in the summer for £61million.

Cancelo had fallen out of favour in the build-up to his exit, but the sudden and surprise departure led to rumours that he and Guardiola’s relationship had frayed and that an argument between the pair forced the move.

However, the 28-year-old has played down talk of a bust-up with the City boss and has not ruled out returning to the club at the end of the season with his loan expires.

“People who say that I fought with Guardiola is a lie. I didn’t feel important in the team in the last games. I spoke with the coach and he also agreed. And together with the club we decided that I had to leave, that it was the best for me,” Cancelo explained to Movistar Plus after Bayern’s round of 16 Champions League victory over Paris Saint-Germain.

“I like the new opportunities, it’s not against City. I think that at City he has taken the step to the level he wanted to reach, that’s where I became the player I am today. I am grateful to both Pep and the club because they gave me everything. My daughter was born in Manchester and it’s a club I’ll never forget. And who knows, in football you never know and at the end of the year I can return.”

These Cancelo’s comments were shared on Twitter by City Xtra and it attracted plenty of attention from the club’s supporters.

@ErlingRoIe: “Everyone believed the media straight away. Knew he never did that”

@JHarrison1220: “Madness if true. Best full back in the league”

@SilkyCyrus_74: “So because he didnt start a few games he all of the sudden felt less important so he instantly left 🤦”

@cityzins8: “He is lying”

@Faz_forward: “He’s just keeping options open in case he doesn’t get enough minutes in Bayern”

@easyon_you: “This even makes him look worse.. Smh. How many games missed? You all of a sudden feel unimportant to the team? How will Foden feel? Or Laporte? He fell out of form and started feeling too big to even stay on the bench for a few games..”

@IlyesBerkane1: “Makes you appreciate players like mahrez and foden even more, they get dropped instead of acting like babies they fight to get back in the team, healthy competition is very good”

@shane_mcfc: Given the most time of any defender and when benched for not being up to par he felt “not wanted” so he left MID season instead of fighting for his spot”

@cheezy_city: “I hope this is true, cause tbh I don’t see bayern paying the 70 mil clause. So WHEN he comes back to city, it needs to be open minded on both sides to get him back into the mix”