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Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo has departed the club on loan following an altercation with manager Pep Guardiola on the training ground. It is believed that Cancelo was incensed after discovering he would not be named in the starting 11 for City's FA Cup clash with Arsenal.
This is according to the Daily Mail, who claim that the dispute was the culmination of a troubled relationship between Cancelo and Guardiola that has been building since the World Cup. Joao Cancelo has been vocal about his displeasure with his lack of playing time in recent weeks.
Notably, he started just three games following Portugal's exit from the FIFA World Cup at the hands of Morocco. It also did not help that he was substituted off at halftime in their Premier League win over Chelsea.
Following the incident between the Portugal back and his manager, Manchester City have granted him permission to leave on loan to Bayern Munich. The Bavarians have the option to purchase Joao Cancelo for a fee of £61 million at the end of the season.
His departure has left City in search of a replacement. But with the transfer window at a close, club sources have claimed that they have sufficient defensive depth in the squad. Indeed, they might be correct, as Pep Guardiola isn't short of versatile players in his defensive ranks.
Nathan Ake, Aymeric Laporte, and Sergio Gomez have all played in the position and can provide cover if needed. However, Manchester City have been linked with Ben Chilwell, who recently moved to Chelsea from Leicester City.
Last summer, the club also considered Brighton's Marc Cucurella, but ultimately declined to meet the club's asking price. In the coming summer, City will hope to find a suitable left-back who can provide stability and defensive prowess to their backline.
Joao Cancelo has claimed that there are no issues with Pep Guardiola at Manchester City
Joao Cancelo has given insight into his sudden loan move to Bayern Munich from Manchester City on the last day of the January transfer window. He stated that his decision was due to his lack of playing time and had nothing to do with his relationship with City manager Pep Guardiola.
Speaking at a press conference during his introduction in Munich, the full-back said (via Manchester Evening News):
"My decision was only based on the lack of minutes in the last couple of weeks. There was speculation that my relationship to Pep Guardiola was not the best but the fact is that I just wanted to play more and now I have the opportunity and a dream came true."
It will be interesting to see whether the Bavarians end up being impressed enough to buy him.
