Joao Cancelo has been a consistent starter for the Catalan club throughout the 2023–24 season. His heroics in the early phase of the season impressed Culers to the point where they began viewing him as an ideal leader for the club.
However, as the loanee's deal ends on June 30th this summer, discussions regarding his future have gathered serious consideration at the club. After an impactful season with nine-goal contributions in all competitions, Barca is ready to offer him another loan season. However, Manchester City, his parent club, doesn't want another loan; they are considering offloading the veteran full-back, Diario Sport reported.
Man City, already having the reliable duo of Gvardiol and Walker, demands a transfer fee of around 40 million euros for Cancelo. Even though Barca is keen to keep Cancelo, buying him out would be difficult.
In an interview with La Gazzetta dello Sport, Cancelo expressed his desire to remain at the club.
He said,
"“I know nothing yet [about the future], but I’d like to stay here. I grew up watching Ronaldinho’s Barcelona. He’s my idol. I am proud to wear this jersey, and there aren’t other clubs I can join, right?”"La Gazzetta dello Sport
Moreover, as Fabrizio Romano wrote,
""Barça have already informed Jorge Mendes of their plan to keep both João Félix and João Cancelo. Laporta and Deco agree on the plan; Hansi Flick has already given his green light. Concrete talks with Atlético and Manchester City are yet to start, but both players want to stay.""Fabrizio Romano(via Twitter)
Everything now depends on Jorge Mendes, Cancelo's agent, to make a possible deal between the two clubs. However, Barca needs some serious cash flow to keep Cancelo at the club. Having been unable to register their new manager, Hansi Flick, with La Liga, the club needs to offload some young talents to bring in some cash. The club might consider selling some of its starters to make way for the veteran full-back.
While everyone looks forward to the Flick era making significant improvements at the club, the German manager's current challenge is retaining the core.