Joao Cancelo hits out at Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola over “lies” about exit reasons

Joao Cancelo left Manchester City to join Barcelona for a second loan spell away from the Etihad at the start of the season, having spent the second half of last season on a similar mission at Bayern Munich. Rumours, reportedly coming from City boss Pep Guardiola, suggested the Portugal international had been a “bad influence in the dressing room”, and speaking to outlet A Bola in his homeland, the 29-year-old fiercely refuted the accusations.

“Lies were told. I was never a bad companion for them and you can ask either [Nathan] Ake or Rico [Lewis]. I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them.

“I think Manchester City were a bit ungrateful to me when they said that because I was a very important player in the years I was there.

“I never failed in my commitment to the club, to the fans. I always gave everything.”

Cancelo also referred to the game he played against Arsenal in North London on the first day of 2022, hours after he was physically attacked and his house robbed.

“I remember a time when I was robbed and attacked and the next day I was playing at the Emirates against Arsenal.

“These are things you don’t forget. I left my wife and daughter alone at home, terrified.

“People will only remember this because Mr. Guardiola has much more strength than me when he says something, and I prefer to keep to myself.”

Such bust-ups, or parting shots if you will, are obviously nothing new. Managers sometimes need to phase out long-serving members of their squads gradually, introducing new, younger ones into the fold as they seek ways to maintain their success over a long period.

Few will know about staying successful as well as “Mr. Guardiola”, whose team has won five Premier League titles over the last six seasons, topping it off with the long-elusive Champions League trophy, and the FA Cup to complete the great treble in 2022/23.

However, sometimes its hard to understand the need to explain the…

Source link : https://www.soccernews.com/joao-cancelo-hits-out-at-manchester-city-boss-pep-guardiola-over-lies-about-exit-reasons/369053/

Author : Veselin Trajkovic

Publish date : 2024-03-24 21:56:24

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