Joao Cancelo 'was in serious breach' of Pep Guardiola's policy at Man City
Joao Cancelo is leaving Manchester City for Bayern Munich after growing unhappy with a lack of game-time.
Joao Cancelo is heading to Bayern Munich on the final day of the transfer window after becoming unhappy with his lack of game-time at Manchester City.
News of the move, which is a loan with an option to buy for £61 million, came out of nowhere but reports say Cancelo had a bust-up with Guardiola after learning he was not in the starting XI for the win over Arsenal.
Nathan Ake started and scored the winner, with Cancelo an unused substitute for the third consecutive game.
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The former Valencia man was said to be furious with being brought off at half-time in the 1-0 away win at Chelsea, and the fact Guardiola said “I’m so sorry for Joao, I asked him to play in a position he wasn’t used to,” after he played as a right-winger.
He went to the bench from the bus by himself for the Wolves win and then he reacted angrily to being snubbed from the side to play Arsenal on Friday night.
As per The Athletic, City staff felt he was not paying attention in tactical meetings or listening to instructions.
In the detailed report, it's mentioned that Guardiola and his staff noticed his body language was not up to scratch.
The City boss has a "no bad faces policy" at City, whereby he expects players to have the right attitude when not playing.
"You can not create something when people who are not playing regularly are creating problems," he said in 2017.
"Bad faces, bad behaviour from those guys– when that happens, forget about it.
"You cannot stay if it happens. But the guys who didn't play regularly here and are now playing more, they are exceptional. Without that, you cannot do it."
Cancelo, described as “like a volcano” when not playing, fell foul of Guardiola's number one rule.
Deeming him to be disruptive to the rest of the squad, City felt they had no choice but to move him on and were happy to do so when the Bayern proposition was brought to the table.
They are not expected to move for a last-minute replacement and will persist with Ake, Aymeric Laporte and Sergio Gomez as options at left-back.
Guardiola has also hinted about Phil Foden being able to play there, which could be a potential solution.
Signed in 2019 from Juventus, Cancelo has made 154 appearances for City, winning two Premier League titles and being named in the PFA Team of the Year in both campaigns.
Topics: Joao Cancelo, Manchester City, Bayern Munich, Premier League, Pep Guardiola
Josh Lawless