Guardiola’s Explosive Encounter with Cancelo: Lessons Learned

With the premiere of ‘Together: Treble Winners’ by Netflix, many of the Manchester City’s behind-the-scenes moments from last season, the year of their remarkable treble, have come to light. One of these reveals features Joao Cancelo, who barely lasted a few months and later had to leave on loan to Bayern Munich due to disagreements with manager Pep Guardiola.

In the documentary, one of the outbursts that ultimately strained a previously successful relationship at the Etihad Stadium is showcased. During a match against Fulham, the Portuguese player was sent off, leaving his team to play with ten men for a significant portion of the game, greatly frustrating Pep Guardiola.

“For the Champions League, learn from this. We cannot make the same mistakes, it’s impossible. Impossible,” a furious Guardiola exclaimed, well aware that any misstep could mean saying goodbye to the Premier League. However, after Cancelo’s expulsion, the team rallied and ended up turning the match around.

“How many years have we been together, guys? This stadium was filled with so much emotion. I love you all, but guys… it’s not just about the victory itself, you know? It’s about how we played for 70 minutes, 10 against 11. This might be one of the happiest days I’ve had here because this is why we’re here, the emotion,” Pep concluded once the match was over. Cancelo was left marked.

These scenes from the Netflix documentary only confirm some of the points where the relationship between Pep Guardiola and Cancelo began to fracture. In the end, the Portuguese player ended up on loan at Bayern first, and then at Barça. He won’t be playing under Pep anymore. Or so it seems.