Cancelo left Man City to play more, says Guardiola
Pep Guardiola said Joao Cancelo’s surprise loan move from Premier League champions Manchester City to Bayern Munich was motivated by the full-back’s desire to play more.
The Portugal international joined the German team this week for the remainder of the season with the intention of making the move permanent.
Since the transfer was completed on deadline day, there have been reports that Cancelo had lost favor in recent weeks and had become a disruptive figure in the locker room.
However, Guardiola stated that the 28-year-old wanted regular football for his City team, which is five points behind Premier League leaders Arsenal.
I wish him the best for the next four months and the remainder of the season. He stated, “I don’t know what will happen next season.”
“After the World Cup, we established a “pre-season” and began playing in various new patterns. I decided to give more time to the players I saw on the field because I liked what I saw.
“We collectively decided to allow him to travel to Munich because he is a guy who needs to play to be happy. He wants to play every game, and hopefully in Munich that will happen.
Since joining City from Juventus in 2019, Cancelo has won two Premier League titles and two League Cups. His ability to play as an extra midfielder was once considered crucial to Guardiola’s team.
After sustaining a hamstring injury during last week’s FA Cup victory over Arsenal, City defender John Stones will be out for up to a month, according to Guardiola, whose team travels to Tottenham on Sunday.
Guardiola said, “It’s three weeks, one month out.” Unfortunately, numerous games
