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It’s official! Joao Cancelo has completed his medical and signed for Bayern Munich today. This surprising turn of events was catalyzed by a personal feud between the former Manchester City fullback and his boss, Pep Guardiola. While we’ve covered that story already, insider info obtained by The Athletic reveals more in-depth info about Cancelo’s character and what led to the dispute.
First of all, Cancelo is the one who asked for the move to Bayern Munich. It was last week when he instructed his agent, Jorge Mendes (the same man who desperately tried to flog Cristiano Ronaldo to Bayern back in the summer) to find him a new club. The Bavarians were immediately interested, and Mendes took the offer to City. It was accepted, hence the loan.
A source at Manchester City apparently said that Cancelo is “like a volcano” in the dressing room. He’s the kind of player who’s unhappy to be left out of games and regularly speaks his mind. Given what we know about Pep Guardiola and his non-confrontational attitude, their fallout was practically inevitable.
“When he’s in a good mood, he’s excellent,” said another source close to the City team. “When he’s in a bad mood, he’s a bad boy. He thinks he is the best and doesn’t accept any advice or correction.” [@TheAthleticFC]
— Bayern & Germany (@iMiaSanMia) January 31, 2023
It’s clear that Bayern Munich have signed a firebrand, though a character like Cancelo may fit in better among the large personalities at Bayern vs the more quiet group at City. Like, imagine trying to talk back to someone like Joshua Kimmich. He wouldn’t last a day.
On the other hand, Pep Guardiola is a former Bayern coach, and it’s slightly worrying that he couldn’t handle Cancelo. Julian Nagelsmann is nowhere near as experienced as Guardiola, and adding another hothead to the squad might not be good for the team. Wrangling the mess of egos at Bayern is already one of the toughest jobs in world football, and it just got tougher.
Luckily, since it’s only a six-month loan, if Cancelo proves to be toxic then Bayern can just ship him back to City. That’s the advantage of a buy-option. The Athletic reveals that the bridges have been burnt on that front, so Bayern could even use it as leverage to lower Cancelo’s price in the summer. There are lots of possibilities from here on out — for now though, we’re just happy he’s here.
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