Joao Cancelo leaves complicated legacy at Manchester City

Legacy in soccer is often associated with how wonderful a player has served a club. Those who reach the heights of success develop their version of a legacy within a club.

In the case of Joao Cancelo and his time at Manchester City, it is a mixed bag of emotions. The Premier League ultimately says goodbye to a Portuguese international who ended up being one of the best to do it in England over the last decade Cancelo departs for Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for a fee of $28 million, five years on from his arrival at City. He joined Pep Guardiola’s side for $79 million from Serie A side Juventus.

At the time of the Portuguese fullback’s arrival in Manchester, Benjamin Mendy was the starting left-back. Cancelo offered something different. His attacking output fit manager Pep Guardiola’s preferred formation and tactics. In his debut season, Cancelo was used sparingly in the Premier League. Cancelo needed time to adjust to the English game. However, he would start six of City’s nine Champions League games before their eventual elimination at the hands of Olympique Lyonnais in the quarterfinals.

Joao Cancelo brought something new to Manchester City

The following season saw his playing time drastically increase. Coincidentally, so did City’s successes. Not only would the Portuguese defender prove to be instrumental in City’s title win and run to the Champions League final. Cancelo redefined the fullback role in a Guardiola team.

No more veteran or makeshift fullbacks. Guardiola had his man, and he had a fine blend of attacking flair, discipline and width that this City side was craving. All of a sudden, any criticism of spending almost $80 million on a fullback was silenced. Most impressive of all, Cancelo was the best left-back in the Premier League. At the time, he was not even playing in his favored side, which was occupied by Kyle Walker.

Over the next few years, Cancelo would win three consecutive Premier League titles. The FA Cup in 2022/23 and EFL Cup in 2020/2021 rounded off the other accolades in sky-blue colors.

Dissolution of an otherwise perfect fit

The fireworks publicly went off in January 2023. There was a sudden announcement that Manchester City was loaning Joao Cancelo out to Bayern Munich for the rest of the season. It came as much of a shock for a player who was still featuring for the club. Reports at the time suggested Cancelo had concerns over playing time. Rico Lewis was breaking through into consistent first-team minutes, and Nathan Ake was developing as a starter.

When pressed on the matter, Guardiola indicated that this was the case.

“Everyone has their own personality. [Cancelo] loves to play, he trains the best but he needs to play to be happy, so we decided together to let him go to Munich. He wants to play every game so hopefully that can happen in Munich.”

However, an interview with A Bola in March 2024 by the defender refuted that.

“Lies were told. I’ve never been a bad teammate for them, and you can ask either Ake or Rico. I don’t have any superiority or inferiority complex towards them, but that’s the manager’s opinion.”

The relationship with Manchester City had truly broken down in that time. Often enough in manager-player disputes, the words of the manager take better in the court of public opinion. By going publicly with this himself, Cancelo had dug himself into a deeper hole and ultimately closed the chapter on his City career.

Sour end to his time at Manchester City

That would be delayed by a year as he was loaned out to Barcelona for the 2022/23 season. City preferred to sell him this summer, but Barcelona was hesitant to buy the defender. The Spanish side wanted to take Cancelo on loan again. An otherwise high fee for a permanent transfer was not possible due to Barcelona’s financial constraints.

Despite Guardiola’s openness this summer to possibly welcome Cancelo back into the fold, it was never really a viable option. There is no fit for him in the 3-4-2-1 setup that City has used so far this season. Josko Gvardiol and Rico Lewis would fit in a more traditional setup as well.

At the age of 30, Cancelo’s open defensive frailties as a result of his attacking output have come back to haunt him. He is still good enough for most European teams, but those outside of the big clubs are unable to afford his salary. Therefore, the Saudi league is the default next step for a household name. There, he can still be in contention for the Portugal national team for another few years.

As far as the Premier League is concerned, Cancelo leaves behind a modern imprint in English football that is far away from the traditionalist version of a full-back. He may not have been the first, but he is one of the first great ones who showed how attacking-minded managers in the next few years can model a successful system with an attacking defender.

PHOTOS: IMAGO