Pep Guardiola opens door for forgotten Man City star to return after big bust-up

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola has opened the door for Joao Cancelo to return after their big bust-up which saw him leave the club twice on loan.

Cancelo accused Guardiola of ‘telling lies’ and slammed City as ‘ungrateful’ in an extraordinary rant just five months ago, but the pair have now reconciled.

The 30-year-old full-back has spent time out on loan at Bayern Munich and Barcelona since his fall-out with Guardiola but it looks like the FPL favourite could now be coming back.

‘He’s training with us, yes, we will see,’ Guardiola said about Cancelo on Friday ahead of their opening 2024-25 Premier League match against Chelsea.

‘Maybe stay, maybe go on loan. He loves to play football and train, we will see. It can happen, yes. In training, we say hi and we talk.

‘What is going to happen depends on his agent. In the end, we have to say we will treat him like all the other players – with respect and do the best with the amount of qualities he has.

‘I have never doubted his quality, but we will have to see what happens.’

Earlier this year, Cancelo was asked about Guardiola’s assertion that he responded poorly to being left out of the team and said: ‘Lies were told! I’ve never been a bad team-mate for them and you can ask either (Nathan) Ake or Rico (Lewis).

‘I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that’s the manager’s opinion. I stayed because it’s not true. I think Man 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 and I always gave everything. 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 Mister Guardiola has much more power than me when he says something and I prefer to keep to myself.

‘I prefer to know that I am telling the truth, I feel fulfilled with what I did. I am a transparent person, I never lie. Life goes on and I wish everything goes well, because while I was there I enjoyed my football and the team.’