Barcelona and Joao Cancelo have both declared an interest in reuniting for the coming season publicly, and it appears they are nearing a conclusion to negotiations with Manchester City. City have reportedly recevied multiple offers for Cancelo, but with the Portuguese adamant he will only return to Barcelona, have been forced into negotiations again.
The 30-year-old is willing to take a significant wage cut to make a loan move happen, and Sport say that an agreement between Barcelona and City is ‘very close’. It would be a loan move with an obligation to buy, and they reference a previously reported proposal revealed by the Daily Star. Their information is that with Jorge Mendes leading talks on behalf of Barcelona, he had suggested a €8.3m loan fee and Barcelona taking care of his salary. The following summer Barcelona would pay €21.3m for Cancelo.
Intermediaries approached Raphinha this week regarding a move to the Saudi Pro League, but he reiterated his priority is to stay at Barcelona. @FabrizioRomano
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) July 31, 2024
Given their financial woes, it seems remarkable that Barcelona are willing to commit to what is nearly a €30m outlay for a player that will be 31 next summer. More so, when considering his performances last season. Cancelo showed his quality in fits and bursts, especially in the opening few months of the season, but was exposed in dramatic fashion in Barcelona’s two biggest games of the season against Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid.
