Man City defender will ‘not play for club ever again’ after he ‘betrayed’ Pep Guardiola

Man City defender Joao Cancelo will reportedly ‘not play for the club ever again’ as he has been accused of ‘betraying’ head coach Pep Guardiola.

Cancelo was arguably the surprising move of the end of the January transfer window, leaving Manchester City to join Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season.

The deal was one that few saw coming, with Cancelo having played a key role at the Etihad since a €65m move from Juventus in August 2019.

He’s made 154 appearances for the club since that point, scoring nine and assisting 22 as well as establishing himself as one of the best full-backs in Europe during that time.

It appears, though, he pushed for a move away from Manchester City after a falling out with Pep Guardiola.

Football Insider are now reporting that Cancelo is ‘not expected to play for Man City again after completing a shock loan-to-buy move to Bayern Munich’.

It is said that ‘issues have been bubbling behind the scenes’ as the defender’s relationship with Guardiola and his coaching staff has ‘deteriorated’.

The report adds that ‘none of the parties involved expect him to return to his parent club this summer or, indeed, to play for them again’.

A separate report from AS (via Sport Witness) indicates that ‘something important happened’ at Man City that led to the loan transfer being completed.

It is said that Cancelo’s exit was ‘striking’ and ‘almost personal’ after Guardiola helped to turn him into the ‘best full-back in the world’.

Cancelo is accused of being ‘very unappreciative’ and he ‘betrayed his mentor’ in the weeks leading up to his departure from Man City.

Guardiola refused to say a “bad word” about Cancelo during his press conference earlier this week.

“He has been an incredible figure in the last two Premier Leagues we won but after the World Cup we made a ‘pre-season’ and started to play in a different way in some patterns,” Guardiola told reporters.

“I liked what I watched and I decided to give more time to players who I saw on the pitch who liked it.

“He is one of the players who trains the best but in this situation he didn’t play much in the last two or three games.

“We cannot say he didn’t play much (at all) because in the last years he was one of the players with the most minutes by far, (but) he is a guy who needs to play to be happy and we decided together, all three parties, to let him go to Munich.

“Bayern Munich wanted him because he’s beyond an exceptional player. I won’t say one bad word about him.

“I think his work ethic, love for football, passion, his quality and skills… what can I say? Everyone knows it.”