Barcelona announce return of defender to Manchester City in deleted social media post | OneFootball

Manchester City are expected to welcome back outcast defensive option Joao Cancelo to the Etihad Stadium this summer, following a deleted announcement from FC Barcelona.

The Portugal international has been shut out of Pep Guardiola’s first-team picture for over a year, having first exited the club during the January transfer window of 2023 by joining Bayern Munich on a six-month agreement.

Despite a brief return to Manchester City’s squad for pre-season ahead of the recently-concluded 2023/24 campaign, Cancelo penned another temporary exit, joining FC Barcelona on a 12-month deal and excelling under manager Xavi.

However, with that deal having now expired and Manchester City holding no desire to reintegrate the 30-year-old into their first-team system, a decision needs to be made in the coming weeks as to what comes to next for the Portuguese full-back.

In a now-deleted social media post from La Liga giants FC Barcelona, Joao Cancelo can be expected to return to Manchester City this summer following the conclusion of his loan agreement with the Catalan club.

Barcelona stated on social media platform X (formerly Twitter), “Latest news, Joao Cancelo not to continue with FC Barcelona”, with a graphic featuring the message, “Thank you so much, Joao!”

Despite the release of a farewell statement, the widespread belief within Manchester City circles is that Joao Cancelo will be allowed to leave the club once again this summer, with a return to competitive action for the club deemed highly unlikely.

However, it remains to be seen just whether Barcelona can finance a move at the levels expected by the Premier League champions, who in turn could be forced to accept yet another 12-month loan agreement to Catalunya.

Away from the La Liga giants and Cancelo is unlikely to generate interest elsewhere in Europe at present, and his options may be limited to Saudi Arabia as the only other alternative should Joan Laporta and Barcelona bosses become unable to sanction a move.