Joao Cancelo decided to quit Manchester City for Bayern Munich in January but the defender’s loan switch to the Allianz Arena already appears to be transforming into a nightmare.
Heading into this week’s Champions League showdown with French champions Paris Saint-Germain, Joao Cancelo might be sitting reflecting on what has gone wrong for him over recent seasons.
It is only 18 months since the Portuguese was named in the PFA Team of the Season following a stunning season for Manchester City.
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After scoring three goals and notching ten assists from right-back in all competitions that season, the former Juventus man was rightly considered among the best defenders in world football.
Since then, he has fallen out of contention at the Etihad Stadium – rumours of a bust-up with Pep Guardiola rearing their head – and has been jettisoned on-loan to Bayern Munich.
Speaking at the time, the Portuguese defender said: “It’s a lie that I had a fight with Guardiola, a complete lie.
I, the coach and the club decided that I had to leave, that it was the best option for me.
Whilst Cancelo’s reason for an exit was admirable – the Portuguese potentially set to add yet another domestic title to his collection – it has not gone the way that he will have expected at the Allianz Arena.
Since then though, the on-loan Man City star’s game time under current boss Julian Nagelsmann continues to decrease.
Cancelo was afforded just 12 minutes in a 3-0 success over title rivals Union Berlin at the end of February, whilst he was left on the bench at the weekend as Bayern squeezed past Stuttgart at the weekend.
Speaking at the weekend, he said: “He’s [Cancelo] handling the situation well.
Whilst valid, that is unlikely to be a reason that will pacify Cancelo after what has been a hugely puzzling season thus far.
As per reports in Germany, the 28-year-old is “frustrated” at the situation he finds himself in at the Allianz Arena just two months after putting pen to paper on his loan switch.
It is suggested that Cancelo, a recent inclusion in the FIFPRO World XI, will once again be left on the bench for the second leg on Wednesday evening as his situation mimics that of the one he found himself in with Man City.
The German giants retain an option to make the Portuguese’s move to Germany permanent for £61m but it appears highly unlikely that they will activate that any time soon.
That leaves Cancelo in an even more uncomfortable situation should he return to the Etihad Stadium next year.
Speaking last month, he said: ‘Next season I don’t know what happens.
“After the World Cup, we make a pre-season and decided to play, in some patterns different.
He trains the best, the situation he doesn’t play much.
He needs to play to be happy, we decide to let him go to Munich.”
With both of his parent and loan club left unconvinced over Cancelo, he will certainly be racking his brain over what exactly has gone wrong.
