Joao Cancelo reveals stance on Man City return after Bayern Munich loan spell

Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has refused to close the door on a possible return to the Etihad Stadium when the campaign draws to a close.

The Portugal international completed a surprise loan move to Bayern Munich during the January transfer window, having seen his influence wane under Pep Guardiola.

The emergence of Rico Lewis pushed Cancelo down the pecking order, and Bayern have an option to make his move to the Allianz Arena permanent for a €70m (£62m) fee in the summer.

The 28-year-old’s contract with the Premier League champions does not expire until the summer of 2027, though, and he has expressed his desire to win the top-flight title with the Citizens again.

Speaking to Portuguese outlet O Jogo, Cancelo also paid tribute to a number of his Man City teammates, saying: “Will I still celebrate an English title with City? I hope so. I created a second family there.

“Bernardo [Silva] has become one of my best friends, he is the person I miss the most there. He was my psychologist. When something didn’t go so well, he was the one to talk to. Ruben [Dias] too, but my relationship with Bernardo is actually very good, even on the field, we had a great connection when we played on the same side.

“He is a person that I will take with me for the rest of my life. Of course, in England I’m rooting for them and I hope they win so that at the end of the season I can be celebrating a title in England and another in Germany.

[Riyad] Mahrez is a great friend of mine, not a day goes by that he doesn’t call me. [Jack] Grealish is a spectacular person. Nathan [Ake] is one of the best people I’ve met in football.

“A spectacular group, I would go to training with great enthusiasm. Everything in life has an end. City’s group is spectacular, it’s the best I’ve ever worked in, both as a group and personally. I created great friendships. But at the end of the season I might even return, you never know.”

Cancelo has made a fast start to life at Bayern with two assists from his first five games under Julian Nagelsmann, who could be searching for a new permanent full-back if Benjamin Pavard moves on this summer.

However, Bayern director Hasan Salihamidzic has admitted that his side will find it difficult to trigger their lucrative buy option, telling Bild: “After the transfer was done, we actually thought again about how long we’ve been dealing with Joao. We came up with more than four years. Either our position was filled or we didn’t have the money for it.

“We’re playing with open cards. This sum is difficult for us to imagine in the next few years. If all sides really want a common solution, you can manage that in the end. He knows that he has been one of our dream players for years.”

Cancelo has posted nine goals and 22 assists from 154 games in a Man City shirt since joining from Juventus in 2019, having initially struggled to adapt to life in the Premier League.

Having overcome his sticky start, the Portugal international thrived in a versatile left-back role under Guardiola, winning two Premier League titles and being named in the PFA Team of the Year in each of the last two seasons.

It had been claimed that a rift with Guardiola led to Cancelo’s sudden exit from the club in January, but the defender has since rubbished the rumours as “lies” and insisted that his decision was simply in order to increase his playing opportunities.