‘Lies were told!’
Joao Cancelo has accused his former boss Pep Guardiola of lying about why he left Manchester City, adding that the club are ‘ungrateful.’
The Portuguese defender is currently on loan at Barcelona from Man City.
He had joined the Premier League club in 2019, but departed suddenly at the start of last season, joining Bayern Munich on loan.
After the 29-year-old’s move, City boss Guardiola said Cancelo had left because he refused to accept being dropped from the starting XI.
The Spaniard said: “Everyone has his own character. He loves to play, he trains the best and in this situation he didn’t play much in the last few games.
“He needs to play to be happy and we decided together for all three parties to let him move. He wants to play every single game and hopefully he can have that in Munich.”
Cancelo was recently asked how he felt when he heard Guardiola’s comments – and he didn’t hold back.
Speaking to A Bola, he said: “Lies were told!”
“I’ve never been a bad teammate 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.”
It wasn’t just his former boss who Cancelo was critical of, as he also slammed City as being “ungrateful.”
“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,’ Cancelo said.
“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 Mr Guardiola has much more strength 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. They remain the favourite team to win the Champions League.”
Related links:
Liverpool come back to win 4-2 as Sven-Goran Eriksson’s dying wish comes true
