In a very surprising move on deadline day, one of the top defenders at Manchester City, Joao Cancelo, has said his goodbyes to the fans on Instagram after his loan move to Bayern Munich was confirmed.
The loan move to the German giants comes with an option to buy clause. If Bayern choose to exercise this clause, they will be required to pay £61.5 million to City for the transfer to become permanent.
In the post, Cancelo wrote: “Once a Cityzen, always a Cityzen. Thank you.”
The post itself contained a video montage of Cancelo’s best moments at Manchester City, including a showcase of both his attacking and defensive talents.
The loss of Cancelo will come as a blow to City – he is adept at playing both right back and left back. His role at right back will likely be filled by either Kyle Walker or Rico Lewis, while Nathan Ake could fill in at left back, despite having been played as a centre back this season by Pep Guardiola.
Several of Cancelo’s teammates, both past and present, wished him well for the future. Both Ederson and Ruben Dias commented on the post, leaving a blue love heart emoji. Additionally, former City player, Oleksandr Zinchenko (who now plays for Arsenal), wrote ‘Crack 🔥’ in response to Cancelo’s post.
A number of Cancelo’s international teammates from Portugal also congratulated the 28-year-old on the move. Among them were Bruno Fernandes, Daniel Podence and Pedro Goncalves.
Fernandes, in particular, wrote [translated from Portuguese]: “From another level.”
Despite playing for Manchester United and Manchester City respectively, it appears Fernandes and Cancelo are good friends off the pitch.