Shocking Manchester City transfer request throws Barcelona’s summer move into chaos

Plans for Manchester City loanee Joao Cancelo to complete a permanent transfer to Barcelona this summer could be set to hit a major stumbling block.

The 29-year-old hasn’t featured competitively for Manchester City since a 2-1 loss to Manchester United at Old Trafford in January 2023, after the full-back dramatically quit the Etihad Stadium for Bayern Munich following a rumoured training ground bust-up.

The Portugal defender spent the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign at the Allianz Arena, before moving to Barcelona on a season-long loan deal in September on Deadline Day.

Cancelo has made 32 appearances across La Liga and the UEFA Champions League for Barcelona so far this season, and has ambitions of completing a permanent move to the Spotify Camp Nou this summer, ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

The full-back is contracted at the Etihad Stadium until 2027 however, and cost Manchester City a record-breaking £60 million in 2019, when the defender joined from Juventus as part of a swap-deal with Danilo.

Barcelona’s financial woes could impact a permanent deal, with the potential for Arsenal, Bayern Munich or Saudi Pro League sides to swoop in and complete a summer transfer.

Manchester City are expected to sell Cancelo this summer, with Football Insider reporting that the 29-year-old has played his final game for the club, with Pep Guardiola deeming that there is no route back for Cancelo.

Cancelo’s hope of swapping east Manchester for Catalonia could have hit a major stumbling block though, with journalist Luis Rojo claiming that Barcelona will request to sign Cancelo on another season-long loan.

The La Liga side are currently ‘not thinking about buying’ Cancelo, throwing the Portuguese international’s transfer ambitions into disarray.

According to the information of Manchester City insider ‘Tolmie’s Hairdoo’ on X, Arsenal are ‘monitoring the progress of any breakdown in talks’ between Manchester City and Barcelona and could make a £40 million transfer offer.

The latest developments could therefore open up the opportunity for the Gunners to make a move for the right-back and see Cancelo return to the Premier League next season.