Surprising twist for Chelsea and Real Madrid in Cancelo chase

Cameron Smith

• 27 Feb 2023 11:40 GMT
• 4 min read

Joao Cancelo has provided an update on his future after leaving Manchester City to join Bayern Munich on loan in January.

The Portuguese defender left the Etihad Stadium in a shock loan move at the end of the January transfer window, with the player reportedly not happy with his game time at Man City.

Pep Guardiola had recently introduced academy star Rico Lewis into the first-team, who had begun taking Cancelo's place in the side, and Cancelo made the decision to leave the club and move to Bavaria.

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Furthermore, Bayern do have a €70 million option-to-buy clause included in the loan deal, which fuelled speculation that Cancelo's Man City career was over.

However, Bayern have admitted they don't have the funds to activate this buy clause, leaving Cancelo's future up in the air.

According to 90min, both Chelsea and Real Madrid are keeping a close eye on Cancelo's situation, with the two European giants keen on signing the 28-year-old this summer.

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Chelsea recently purchased Olympique Lyonnais wonderkid Malo Gusto as a back-up to Reece James, while Marc Cucurella was signed on the opposite flank last summer. However, Los Blancos are in need of a new right-back, with Dani Carvajal becoming increasingly injury-prone.

But, in an interview with O Jogo, Cancelo opened up on his future and admitted that a return to Man City is on the cards.

What did Cancelo say?

"Will I still celebrate an English title with City? I hope so. I created a second family there," Cancelo revealed.

"Bernardo [Silva] has become one of my best friends, he is the person I miss the most there. He was my psychologist. When something didn’t go so well, he was the one to talk to.

"Ruben [Dias] too, but my relationship with Bernardo is actually very good, even on the field, we had a great connection when we played on the same side.

"He is a person that I will take with me for the rest of my life. Of course, in England I’m rooting for them and I hope they win so that at the end of the season I can be celebrating a title in England and another in Germany.

Cancelo continued: "City’s group is spectacular, it’s the best I’ve ever worked in, both as a group and personally. I created great friendships.

"[Riyad] Mahrez is a great friend of mine, not a day goes by that he doesn’t call me. [Jack] Grealish is a spectacular person. Nathan [Ake] is one of the best people I’ve met in football.

"A spectacular group, I would go to training with great enthusiasm. Everything in life has an end. But at the end of the season I might even return, you never know."

Cancelo's contract at Man City is set to expire in 2027, meaning the reigning Premier League champions will demand a large fee if any interested party emerges.