{"id":39526,"date":"2024-03-28T01:26:34","date_gmt":"2024-03-28T00:26:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/praizsports.com\/joao-cancelo-fires-shots-at-pep-guardiola-and-manchester-city\/"},"modified":"2024-03-28T01:26:34","modified_gmt":"2024-03-28T00:26:34","slug":"joao-cancelo-fires-shots-at-pep-guardiola-and-manchester-city","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praizsports.com\/joao-cancelo-fires-shots-at-pep-guardiola-and-manchester-city\/","title":{"rendered":"Joao Cancelo Fires Shots at Pep Guardiola and Manchester City"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Joao Cancelo has hit out at both Pep Guardiola and Manchester City<\/a> following his fallout with the manager and the club that led to his abrupt departure on loan in January 2023.<\/p>

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For a player that was considered one of City\u2019s best assets prior to signing a contract extension in 2022, how could things have taken such a dramatic turn downhill? This is a relationship breakdown of enormous proportions. <\/p>

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City had opted to hand the Portuguese a two-year extension on his contract even though he still had three years left on the deal. That was as a result of how important he was considered in the team.<\/p>\n

So no one could have expected that just under a year later the player will have to leave the team to continue his career elsewhere. So bad was the breakdown in the relationship that even the passage of time and the end of the loan deal at Bayern Munich<\/a> could not heal the wounds.<\/p>\n

That led to his subsequent departure to Barcelona on a one-year loan deal with an option for the sani to buy. Although Barcelona president Joan Laporta has expressed his desire to either extend the player\u2019s one year stay further or buy him outright, there was still a faint hope of the player returning to Manchester City at the end of the season.<\/p>\n

That faint hope has now been extinguished following his outburst against Guardiola and City. Speaking in an interview while on international break with Portugal, the defender went full-throttle, attacking both the manager and club regarding events that led to his departure on loan.<\/p>\n

The initial story was that the right back was a disruptive influence in the team and so hard to leave in order to maintain harmony within the squad. He was said to be particularly unhappy at the fact Rico Lewis and Nathan Ake were getting more game time than he was. But he has now vehemently denied that assertion.<\/p>

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Speaking to Portuguese newspaper A Bola, Cancelo tried to set the record straight. He stated: \u201cLies were told! I\u2019ve never been a bad team-mate for them and you can ask either Ake or Rico. I don\u2019t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that\u2019s the manager\u2019s opinion…\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if he was disappointed by the reports that made the rounds concerning the incident, he added: \u201cI was because it wasn\u2019t true. I think Man 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI remember a time when I was robbed and attacked and the next day I was playing at the Emirates against Arsenal. These are things you don\u2019t forget, I left my wife and my daughter alone at home, terrified.<\/p>\n

\u201cPeople will only remember this because Mister Guardiola has much more strength than me when he says something and I prefer to keep to myself. I prefer to know that I am telling the truth, I feel fulfilled with what I did. I am a transparent person, I never lie.\u201d<\/p>\n

By going all out to criticize both the manager and the club, the 29-year-old may have just slammed the door shut on any possibility of returning to City. At this point, he has burnt any bridges left to return to the Etihad Stadium. <\/p>\n

Worse still, he may have soiled his relationship with the club as a whole. Too bad for a player who was an important member of the team that helped City win back-to-back Premier League titles and was expected to be a key part of the team for years to come.<\/p>\n

As much as he may want to deny the fact, the rift came at a huge cost to him. Not only has that been in financial terms following the reduction in his pay while at Barcelona, but more importantly as he missed out on winning the Champions League<\/a> with City last term, despite contributing to that success in the first half of the campaign.<\/p>\n

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Source<\/a><\/p>\n

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