Manchester City manager, Pep Guardiola, told Joao Cancelo he could leave the club after a nasty bust-up between him and the player, reports have emerged.
Cancelo is on the verge of joining Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on loan in a shock January move and the German side reportedly have a £61.5m (€70m) buy option.
The 28-year-old defender moved to City from Juventus in a £60 million deal in 2019 and has made 98 Premier League appearances.
Cancelo won two league titles and the EFL Cup under Guardiola.
He had previously been viewed as one of the key players in Guardiola’s squad due to his ability to drift inside and act as a playmaker when City had the ball.
His performances saw him named in the PFA Premier League team of the year for the last two seasons.
It was however learned that Cancelo fell out of favour after returning from the World Cup in Qatar, starting just three of City’s 10 matches.
READ ALSO: Joao Cancelo in shock loan move to Bayern Munich
The fallout was said to have occurred at the club’s training ground with Cancelo believed to have become a disruptive member of the squad.
His relationship with Guardiola has rapidly deteriorated and the full-back was said to have been furious after not being named in the starting XI for City’s FA Cup win over Arsenal on Friday.
According to Daily Mail, it allegedly got so bad that Cancelo threatened to leave the club after reaching ‘breaking point’ with Guardiola, leading to City allowing him to leave for Bayern.
Guardiola is also thought to be open to letting Cancelo leave after being impressed with Rico Lewis’ emergence and with Nathan Ake’s performances.
Cancelo made 154 appearances for City, registering nine goals and 22 assists.
He is currently under contract until 2027 having signed an extension around a year.
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