Pep Guardiola admits Joao Cancelo could return to his Manchester City squad after 17-month absence if no deal is agreed with Barcelona

Pep Guardiola has suggested that Joao Cancelo will return to his Manchester City squad this summer unless Barcelona can agree a deal for the defender.

Full back Cancelo has not played for City in 17 months.

His most recent competitive appearance for the English champions came in January 2023 when he played the full 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss at Manchester United.

Cancelo was loaned out to Bayern Munich just weeks later. He made 21 appearances for Bayern but the German club decided not to sign him permanently at the end of the 2022-23 season.

The Portugal international – who will represent his country at Euro 2024 this summer – spent the season just gone on loan at Barcelona.

Pep Guardiola (right) has said that Joao Cancelo (left) could return to Manchester City

Cancelo’s last competitive game for City was a Manchester derby defeat in January 2023

He was a first-team regular for Barca, playing 42 times across all competitions.

Cancelo’s latest loan deal is now set to end this month.

He could yet stay in Catalonia but only if a deal can be agreed that suits all parties.

If not then the 31-year-old will likely be part of City’s travelling squad for their pre-season tour of the USA when it begins in late July.

‘It has to be the best for everyone,’ Guardiola said this week while attending a golf event in Girona. ‘The two clubs will sit down.

‘He is our player and, if an agreement is not reached, he will have to return in the pre-season.

‘If he wants to stay here [at Barcelona], and the clubs agree, it will be done again.’

The Portuguese full back spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan at Barcelona in Spain’s La Liga

Cancelo is currently with the Portugal national team preparing for UEFA Euro 2024 in Germany

It was widely reported that Cancelo and Guardiola were involved in a heated row before his first loan exit.

However, Cancelo has denied this and he told Mundo Deportivo last year: ‘It’s a lie that I had a fight with Guardiola, a complete lie.

‘I didn’t feel important to the team in recent games. I spoke to the coach and he agreed.

‘I, the coach and the club decided that I had to leave, that it was the best option for me. I like new opportunities and I have nothing against City.’

Guardiola and Cancelo reportedly fell out during the 2022/23 season but the player denies this

Cancelo was loaned out by City to Bayern Munich midway through the 2022-23 campaign

Cancelo still has another three years left to run on his City contract he signed back in February 2022.

He has been on City’s books since August 2019 when he joined from Juventus.