Official: Joao Cancelo completes his loan move from Manchester City to Bayern Munich

Manchester City have confirmed the exit of Joao Cancelo on loan to Bayern Munich for the remainder of the season.

The 28-year-old has been a key figure for Pep Guardiola’s side in recent seasons, and started 16 of their 20 Premier League games so far in 2022-23.

However, he fell out of favour with Guardiola after the World Cup break, and reports emerged earlier this week that he was closing in on a shock exit from the Etihad Stadium.

There has been speculation that Cancelo took issue with his lack of game time in recent weeks, with his omission from Friday’s FA Cup tie with Arsenal thought to be the final straw and reportedly leading to a training ground bust-up with Guardiola.

The Portugal international’s departure has now been confirmed with a short statement on the Man City website.

“Joao Cancelo has joined Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the season,” read the statement.

“The 28-year-old joined City from Juventus in 2019, following spells in Spain and his native Portugal.

“The Portuguese has now moved to Germany to join the Bundesliga outfit for the remainder of the 2022/23 campaign.”

Upon signing for Bayern Munich on-loan, the 28 year-old said: “FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best in the world, and it’s enormous motivation for me to now play alongside these extraordinary players in a team.

“I know that this club, this team lives for titles and wins titles every year. I’m also driven by the hunger for success. I‘ll give my best for FC Bayern.”

Bayern Munich board member Hasan Salihamidzic said: “We’re very happy that João Cancelo will now play for FC Bayern. We’ve signed him on loan now and have the possibility of signing him permanently in the summer.

“João is a player we’ve been thinking about for a while now because we very much appreciate his qualities.

“He’s the optimal fit in our system with his attacking style of play and dynamism, and his mentality and experience fit very well in our team.

“I’m convinced João will help us in the coming weeks and months where we want to win titles.”

Cancelo would be eligible to play against Manchester City in the UEFA Champions League, should the two teams meet during the remainder of the competition.