Barça Progresses in ‘Operation Cancelo’: Price Set

The future of the ‘Joãos’ in Barcelona remains one of Deco’s key challenges for the upcoming season. Both Portuguese players arrived on the last day of the summer transfer window in 2023, making significant financial efforts to join Barça and leave behind unsustainable situations at Atlético Madrid and Manchester City.

Now, with three months left in the official club season and uncertainty looming over next season’s course with Barcelona still unsure about the next coach, the club must decide what to do with the Portuguese duo. In an interview on “The President Joan Laporta Podcast,” the club’s top executive shared insights previously undisclosed about the state of negotiations:

“We are willing to keep both, either through a loan arrangement with a purchase option or by continuing with the current terms with their respective clubs,” Laporta explained regarding possible avenues in both deals. In a significant update, the president revealed that, contrary to expectations, the ‘Operation Cancelo’ seems to have clearer foundations for a potential new agreement with Manchester City than the ‘Operation Joao Félix’ with Atlético Madrid:

“Their cases are quite similar, but the Cancelo operation is much more advanced regarding the price, while with Joao Félix, the price is yet to be determined, and we are waiting. We want Joao to stay at Barça; he has exceptional talent, and we also want Cancelo to stay, as he has become a regular starter,” the president commented without disclosing exact figures of the deal.

CANCELO’S DESIRE TO STAY In an interview with the newspaper ‘A Bola’ just before the international break and undergoing cardiac tests due to family history, which fortunately were satisfactory, Joao Cancelo confessed to the Portuguese outlet about his future plans.

“I came to Barcelona, took a pay cut, and it doesn’t bother me at all. It was the third time I was about to come to Barça, and finally, I’m here. I won in Italy, England, Germany, and I would like to be here next year fighting for titles in Spain,” he affirmed about where he would like to play next season. As widely known, his relationship with City and Pep Guardiola is strained:

“I think Manchester City was a bit ungrateful to me when Guardiola publicly stated that he was not happy with the performance of my teammates because I was a very important player during the years I was there. I never failed in my commitment to the club. (…) Lies were told! I have never been a bad teammate to them, and you can ask Aké or Rico. I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that’s the coach’s opinion.”

A year after his initial departure on loan to Bayern Munich, Cancelo has moved on from his time at City and his stint in Manchester is now something he only talks about in the past tense:

“I am a transparent person; I never lie. Life goes on, and I wish everything goes well because while I was there, I enjoyed my football and the team.”