German champions Bayern Munich have confirmed the arrival of Portuguese international full-back Joao Cancelo on loan from Manchester City until the end of the season.
Cancelo, 28, joined City in 2019 as part of a swap deal that saw Brazilian full-back Danilo go the other way. He became a regular for City and was a key cog in Pep Guardiola’s title-winning sides, drawing particular praise for the way he moved inside from full-back to operate as a hybrid midfielder during matches.
However, he reportedly fell out with Guardiola after a training ground incident and has been quickly moved on to Bayern for the rest of the season.
Various reports have suggested that there is a purchase option within the contract for the loan, with the fee reportedly standing at €70m.
Speaking at a press conference, Cancelo said: “I’ve not had much game time in the past few weeks, which influenced my decision. There was speculation that my relationship with Pep was not the best but fact is I wanted to play more.
“I really wanted to embark on this new adventure at such a club with such a big history. It’s a dream for me. I’m very happy to be here and to show my footballing qualities.
“I know that this club, this team, lives for titles and wins titles every year. I’m also driven by the hunger for success.”
Bayern have had issues at full-back this season, with first-choice options Noussair Mazraoui and Alphonso Davies both struggling with injuries during the campaign.
Benjamin Pavard has also had injuries and is reportedly of interest to Barcelona in the summer.
The defending Bundesliga champions are top of the table but are only one point ahead of Union Berlin and two ahead of RB Leipzig.