- The 30-year-old is believed to have fallen out with Pep Guardiola in late 2022
- After spending half-a-season at Bayern Munich, player spent last term at Barca
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Joao Cancelo may have torpedoed his chances of a second loan at Barcelona due to the Manchester City player’s high wage demands and his presence in the dressing room, according to reports in Spain.
The defender had booked back-to-back loan spells away from the Etihad after falling out of favour with Pep Guardiola in 2022, moving first to Bayern Munich, then to the LaLiga side last season.
But rather than extending his spell in Catalonia, the Portugal international returned to his parent club to take part in pre-season.
While Guardiola has refused to rule out his participation in the Man City set-up going forward, Cancelo did not feature in the club’s pre-season preparations, nor in their first competitive fixture against Chelsea on Sunday afternoon.
However, while Barcelona have not definitively closed the door on Cancelo’s return, the Spanish club have doubts about a number of key obstacles to a second loan spell.
Joao Cancelo is still on Barcelona’s radar for a second spell but there are a number of issues
The Portugal international has been a misfit at Man City since falling out with Pep Guardiola
But Cancelo’s eye-watering wage demands could yet keep him out at the cash-strapped club
As per SPORT, the cash-strapped club are thought to be turned off by his monumental £11.9million (€14m) annual salary.
The 30-year-old accepted a wage reduction in a bid to secure the move at the start of the 2023-24 season, but is not believed to be interested in doing so for a second term.
Barcelona remain subject to a strict salary cap amid their financial constraints, and are thought to be unwilling to offer Cancelo a salary any higher than he received during their last campaign.
Instead, the Blaugrana’s financial priorities are focused on the registration of a number of players including landmark summer signing Dani Olmo.
In June, Mail Sport reported that the club were yet to register nine…