Joao Cancelo may be too costly for Barcelona
The Catalans like the defender a lot but money talks
Joao Cancelo has become one of the sporting area's priorities for the next project. The City full-back, on loan at Bayern, is on the market and Barça have already looked at the operation, although it will not be easy for him to wear Blaugrana.
In the last meeting between Joan Laporta and Mateu Alemany with his agent, Jorge Mendes, in Porto it was clear that the price is too high for now and his arrival has been frozen. Either the conditions are lowered or Barça will opt for another wing back.
Cancelo fits the bill in sporting terms. He is a player who is very much liked because he has the conditions to adapt to the blaugrana game. He has grown a lot under Pep Guardiola and is a specialist who would greatly improve the team's right flank.
It is true that the player has had several controversial episodes that saw him leave Manchester City, but nobody doubts his quality. Barça were on the verge of signing him when he was at Valencia, but the conditions were not right to bring him in.
The main problem is financial. Loaning Cancelo would cost Barça more than 20 million euros and the blaugrana club is not willing to pay this for a player that they would not own. Specifically, the Blaugrana would have to pay the full fee plus a fee to be paid to City in return for the loan and the numbers are out of kilter.
It has already been made clear to Mendes that the player is of interest, but that the figures must be adjusted so that he can arrive at Camp Nou.
At Barça they are convinced that the final valuation of the operation will end up going down because Manchester City will need to place the Portuguese. His relationship with Guardiola is broken and that motivated his departure in the January transfer window to Bayern on loan.
The Germans have an option to buy him for 70 million euros which they will not exercise because Cancelo has also caused some problems when he has not played. The Blaugrana club are aware of his character, but are willing to take the risk given the player's status.
Mendes has the challenge of convincing City to loan him out without a loan fee and Cancelo would also have to lower his wages to play for Barça. As the summer progresses, Barça's option could gain momentum and it remains to be seen whether it is possible to move forward in this situation.
In any case, Barça have made it clear to Mendes that they are still working on other more viable options, so they will have to get down to work if they want the player to be part of the next Barça project.
