'Manchester City were ungrateful to me': Defender clarifies 'lies' about acrimonious exit

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Manchester City have faced backlash from an on-loan player, who believes the club "lied" about his exit

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola during the Emirates FA Cup Quarter Final match between Manchester City and Newcastle United at Etihad Stadium on March 16, 2024 in Manchester, England.
(Image credit: James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo, who is currently on loan at Barcelona, has opened up about the events that caused his acrimonious departure to Bayern Munich last January.

At the time, reports emerged suggesting that Pep Guardiola didn't take kindly to Cancelo's reaction to being dropped for Premier League victories against Tottenham and Wolves in January 2023, which eventually culminated in his initial departure last term. 

Cancelo has since provided his version of events, though, suggesting that reports about Guardiola being unhappy with his reaction to being dropped last season were "lies".

Joao Cancelo in action for Manchester City against Brentford in November 2022.

Cancelo has responded to reports suggesting he reacted badly to being benched (Image credit: Getty Images)

The 29-year-old told Portuguese sports newspaper A Bola: "Lies were told," Cancelo told Portuguese newspaper A Bola. Lies were told! I've never been a bad team-mate for them and you can ask either [Nathan] Ake or Rico [Lewis]. I don't have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that's the manager's opinion.

"I think Manchester City were a bit ungrateful to me when they said that, because I was a very important player in the years I was there. 

"I never failed in my commitment to the club, to the fans and I always gave everything. I remember a time when I was robbed and attacked and the next day I was playing at the Emirates against Arsenal.

Joao Cancelo of FC Barcelona with the ball during the LaLiga EA Sports match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys on October 22, 2023 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Pedro Salado/Quality Sport Images/Getty Images)

Cancelo been enjoying his time in Barcelona this term (Image credit: Getty Images)

"These are things you don't forget, I left my wife and daughter alone at home, terrified. People will only remember this because Mister Guardiola has much more power than me when he says something and I prefer to keep to myself."

Now at Barcelona, it seems the 29-year-old is intent on staying in Catalonia, with president Joan Laporta highlighting the club's desire to keep the Portugal international.

Finances could pose a problem in making the move permanent, though, meaning Cancelo could return to Manchester City once again in the summer. 

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Ryan Dabbs
Ryan Dabbs
Staff writer

Ryan is a staff writer for FourFourTwo, joining the team full-time in October 2022. He first joined Future in December 2020, working across FourFourTwo, Golf Monthly, Rugby World and Advnture's websites, before eventually earning himself a position with FourFourTwo permanently. After graduating from Cardiff University with a degree in Journalism and Communications, Ryan earned a NCTJ qualification to further develop as a writer while a Trainee News Writer at Future.