Barcelona unaffected as Man City reduce price for veteran fullback

After having in their squad in the 2023-24 season on loan, FC Barcelona are now looking to retain the Portuguese fullback, Joao Cancelo, for another season. His signing is not going to be an easy operation for the Catalans, but they are still looking to negotiate with Manchester City for another loan.

However, the Premier League champions want to get rid of the fullback on a permanent basis and are not very interested in another loan. They have already offered him to several teams and now have also decreased their asking price for the defender.

As SPORT has reported, the Citizens are asking €30 million for Cancelo but can allow him to leave if an offer of around €20 million comes in. Still, Barcelona have not shown any change in their stance, even though Juventus are now pushing to convince both the player and his club to finalise a transfer.

However, there is still a lot of ground to be covered before Juventus and Manchester City can reach an agreement for the fullback. The Italians are looking to get him on a loan with a non-mandatory purchase option, while City want a mandatory purchase option if they are to allow him to leave on loan.

The Old Lady can take the final step in this operation this week as their new coach, Thiago Motta, has urged the club for his signing. The Sicilian club’s executives have already met with Jorge Mendes, and are hoping Barcelona will not enter into bidding to complicate matters for them.

On the other hand, Barcelona are calm as they know that Cancelo wants only to play for them. Still, they have been surprised a bit by the advance that Juventus have made for the defender.

Meanwhile, Cancelo himself is not in too much of a hurry to sort his future out, and is going to wait for the Catalans. Deco sees him as a market opportunity, and Barcelona will offer him a starting spot if he is signed, but if this is not the case, they will look for another ‘low-cost’ option to strengthen their flanks.