Barcelona and Manchester City will likely negotiate for Joao Cancelo, given that a move to the Catalan side suits all parties at this stage. However whether they can agree terms is a different matter.
It was reported that Barcelona were close to submitting a loan with an option to buy offer for Cancelo, which would have amounted to €35m. However Sport now say that they are only willing to go as high as €25m for that option to be included, but that Manchester City are demanding €45m.
If that were not sufficient, ESPN claim that City’s demands are yet higher. They say they are reluctant to allow Cancelo to leave without a permanent resolution, and will ask for a loan with an obligation to buy set at €60m – a deal likely far out of their reach.
🚨 Manchester City will demand €60M for Cancelo as an obligation to buy clause in his loan move to Barça. @espn pic.twitter.com/SYawvKz9pL
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) August 15, 2023
The Catalan daily continue on to say that Agent Jorge Mendes has promised Barcelona that he will secure the operation at an affordable price for the Catalans. They are due to meet again with Mendes on Tuesday.
With both sides so far apart, it seems tricky for them to meet in the middle. It is worth remembering that Cancelo’s buy option for Bayern Munich last season was set at €70m. It may end up that Cancelo, if no other offer comes along, moves to Barcelona on a simple loan deal with no options to buy, as that at the very least would be affordable for the Blaugrana.
