Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo was a star of back-to-back title wins but quickly fell out of favour with Pep Guardiola before finally making a permanent exit in 2024
Former Manchester City star Joao Cancelo has spoken openly about his falling-out with manager Pep Guardiola. Cancelo was a key player for Guardiola’s team as they won the Premier League in the 2021-22 season, playing 52 times in all competitions, but he was gone within nine months.
Guardiola let the right-back join Bayern Munich on loan in January 2023, meaning he played no part in City’s run to Champions League glory in the second half of that campaign. The 2023-24 season saw Cancelo loaned out again, this time to Barcelona, and he made a permanent move to Al-Hilal in the summer of 2024.
Back in 2024, Cancelo gave a cryptic comment when discussing the falling-out. “There are things we didn’t agree on, we’re not obligated to agree on everything,” the defender said during his Barcelona loan..
“I had things I didn’t agree on or he didn’t agree with something I said, it was just that. But I don’t have resentment, I am very grateful. Life goes on, I am very, very happy here,” Cancelo added.
The 30-year-old has been a regular for Al-Hilal this term, while continuing to represent Portugal during their Nations League games in the autumn. Now, in an interview with Channel 11 (via Marca), he has opened up further on what happened in Manchester.
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“We had differences, not a clash, we had different opinions,” Cancelo said. “I have a very strong personality and so does he [Guardiola], but he’s the one in charge.
“Each of us took our own paths, but I thank God for having worked with him . I felt important in this group. He made me grow as a person and as a player.”
He continued: “He’s a genius, a world leader in coaching. The best moments of my career were at Manchester City. I went to training and matches enjoying myself
“But I didn’t want to stay at Manchester City, and they didn’t want me to stay either. So there were several reasons for me to go to Al Hilal.”
Since Cancelo’s departure, Guardiola has used a number of players in the right-back role without appearing to settle on a preference. Manuel Akanji made appearances on the right before his latest injury, as did Kyle Walker before his January loan to AC Milan, with Rico Lewis, Matheus Nunes and January signing Abdukodir Khusanov all filling in at times.
Cancelo alternated between the right-back and left-back roles during his time at the Etihad Stadium, but Guardiola has preferred a different profile of player on the left. Nathan Ake and Josko Gvardiol, both of whom racked up minutes at centre-back at their previous clubs, have regularly featured at full-back under the Catalan boss.
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