After what has been a long negotiation phase for FC Barcelona and English Premier League outfit Manchester City, it appears that the Catalan giants and the recent treble-winning Citizens have come to an agreement over the transfer of 29-year-old Portuguese fullback Joao Cancelo.
The out-of-favor star had been looking for a move away from the Manchester club for a while now, and a loan move in January to German Bundesliga outfit Bayern Munich cemented the will of the player and his club to keep this distance. Seeing this as an opportunity, FC Barcelona have finally managed to capitalize upon it.
According to the recent update provided by Fabrizio Romano, the 28-year-old Portuguese star will join FC Barcelona for one season in a loan move that will be valid until the end of the 2023/2024 season after which Barcelona have an option to buy the player for an agreed amount, rumored to be in the regions of €25 million.
However, this option to buy will become mandatory if certain requirements and criteria are met by the player and his temporary Blaugrana club.
According to the Italian journalist, Barcelona and Manchester City are currently exchanging documents to conclude the operation once and for all. Moreover, he also reports that the player is expected to arrive in Barcelona within the coming hours which will seal his FC Barcelona arrival conclusively.
While reports suggest various criteria related to both the UEFA Champions League as well as Cancelo’s overall participation throughout the course of the season with Barcelona, what remains certain is that there is a definite possibility of the player becoming a mandatory purchase.
During his time with Manchester City, the now Barcelona player has made 154 total appearances during which he contributed 9 goals and provided a further 22 assists to his teammates which led to a lot of success for the Citizens throughout the seasons since his arrival for the 2019/2020 season.
Prior to joining Barcelona, the 29-year-old had already experienced much success as a professional footballer and had been a part of many successful sides both within England and outside.
His list of team achievements includes having won 2 English Premier League titles, one German Bundesliga title while he was with Bayern Munich, one Italian Serie A title with Juventus, one UEFA Nations League with Portugal, and even one Portuguese League title with SL Benfica alongside other titles as well.
Barcelona and Xavi, in particular, will be hoping that his successful experiences will translate into great showings for Barcelona and be the answer to their problems at right-back which they now believe will be sorted as they put their faith in the latest FC Barcelona star to don the Blaugrana colors.
