Fans were left scratching their heads as the news came in that Joao Cancelo joins Bayern Munich for more playing time. It was clarified by Pep Guardiola a manager that he was allowed to leave the Premier League Champions in search of more game time.
Bayern Munich has brought Cancelo on an initial loan deal and Bundesliga can be signed for a 28-year-old permanent contract in the closing season. He has twice been a championship winner with Manchester City and the team was twice selected for the ‘Premier League Team of the Year’.
Guardiola said he was happy with his squad despite Cancelo’s departure which leaves them slightly at the back.
“Next season, I don’t know what happens. (He was) an incredible figure in the last two leagues we won. After the World Cup, we had a pre-season and decided to play, in some patterns, different,” Guardiola told reporters on Friday.
“I liked what I watched. I gave more time to other players. His personality is he loves to play. He trains the best (but) the situation is he doesn’t play much. In the last years, he was one of the players with the most minutes.
“He needs to play to be happy, we decided to let him go to Munich. If Bayern Munich wants Joao it’s because he’s an exceptional player. I won’t say a bad word. His work ethic, passion, skills – everyone knows it.”
Guardiola said he had a chat with the club’s director of football Txiki Begiristain about a possible replacement on deadline day but opted to wait a few months so they could potentially invest in the close season instead.
Guardiola’s Views:
Arsenal and Guardiola’s side next play Tottenham is at fifth while City is five points behind them. Guardiola has lost all four visits to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in all competitions while Arsenal has a game in hand creating pressure on City to reel them in.
“Because they were better than us. We played decent games (but) missed penalties,” he said.
“Now with Antonio Conte (in charge), the quality they have up front, the organization – they’re a tough opponent, always have been in the last few years.
“They’ve been fighting for Champions League (qualification), they’ve been in the top four for many, many years. So it’s a tough place to go.”
Guardiola added that defender John Stones could be out for up to a month but midfielder and fellow England international Phil Foden was close to a return to the club.
“Three weeks, one month, more or less,” said Guardiola when asked about the timeframe for Stones to return to action.
On whether Foden could be available against Spurs, he added: “Yes I think so. He has trained well these last two days.”
City won against Arsenal by 1-0 in FA Cup while Stones suffered a hamstring injury and Foden struggled with a foot injury in recent weeks.
