The spectacular last-minute transfer is perfect: FC Bayern borrows Joao Cancelo from Manchester City and then has a whopping option to buy.
From English to German champion: Joao Cancelo.
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The transfer picked up speed on Monday, and it was perfect on Tuesday: FC Bayern made the signing of Joao Cancelo perfect on “Deadline Day”. The flexible full-back will initially come from Manchester City until the end of the season, but then the Munich team can sign him – reportedly for 70 million euros.
The decision to lure the Portuguese national player to Germany at short notice was made after the 1-1 draw against Frankfurt, the third draw in a row. Against Eintracht, homegrown Josip Stanisic replaced Benjamin Pavard, who was in poor form and willing to change (in the summer). Cancelo could already start on the right-hand side of defense in the DFB Cup game in Mainz on Wednesday (8.45 p.m., LIVE! at kicker).
“FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best clubs in the world”
“We are very happy that Joao Cancelo will play for Bayern from now on,” said Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic in the club statement. “We have him on loan now and we have the opportunity to sign him on a permanent basis in the summer. Joao is one of the players that we have been thinking about for quite a while because we really value his qualities. He fits in with his attacking style and his Dynamic optimally into our system and with his mentality and experience also very good to our team. I am convinced that Joao will help us in the coming weeks and months in which we want to win titles.”
Cancelo himself says: “FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best clubs in the world, and it is an enormous motivation for me to be in a team with these extraordinary players. I know that this club, this team lives for titles and wins titles every year. I’m also driven by the hunger for success – I’ll do my best for Bayern.”
Cancelo was trained at Benfica Lisbon, via Valencia and Inter Milan he went to Juventus Turin in 2018, who sold him to Manchester City just a year later for a reported 65 million euros. With the Skyblues, he developed into one of the best full-backs in the Premier League, mostly on the left, but also on the right from time to time. But recently Cancelo, who had only been extended to 2027 a year ago and received his favorite back number seven, fell out of favor with coach Pep Guardiola.
In recent weeks, Guardiola has increasingly relied on Kyle Walker, John Stones, Nathan Aké or youngster Rico Lewis on the defensive wing, which Cancelo, recently voted into the “Eleven of the Season” twice in a row by the Premier League professionals, did not do at all tasted. After 98 Premier League games (five goals, eleven assists), he is now leaving England again to demonstrate his offensive drive in Munich.
