Pep Guardiola Informs Xavi Why Joao Cancelo’s Move to Barcelona Failed

• Pep Guardiola has informed Xavi about why Barcelona failed to sign Joao Cancelo on loan
• The Portugal defender joined Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich on loan in January
• Cancelo is set to return to Manchester City this summer after his loan deal with Bayern ended

Pep Guardiola has opened up on why wantaway defender, Joao Cancelo did not join Barcelona in the winter transfer window in January despite the Catalans’ interest.

Barcelona manager Xavi claimed the La Liga giants were the favourites to sign the Portugal defender after he fell down the pecking order at Manchester City before surprisingly joining Bayern Munich.

According to Goal, Guardiola revealed his Barcelona counterpart was misinformed as he claims the Catalans did not submit a bid to sign Cancelo in the winter transfer window.

“He has been misinformed. He is far from reality. We decided that Joao had to leave and we didn't care where if he wanted to go to Manchester United, who are the city rivals. I'm not saying Xavi was lied to, but I'm saying he was misinformed.

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“Joao went to Bayern because Bayern wanted him. We didn't get an offer from Barca.”

Barcelona are said to still be keen on Cancelo and will get a second chance at signing the Portugal defender, as Bayern are unlikely to trigger the €70 million option to keep him permanently.

City to battle for Gundogan

Meanwhile, Pep Guardiola has confirmed that Manchester City are fighting with Barcelona over the signature of German international, Ilkay Gundogan, ESPN reports.

Barcelona are also keen to sign the midfielder, and Guardiola said that he knows the Catalan club's coach, Xavi Hernández, has been in touch with the 32-year-old midfielder.

Gundogan is out of contract with the reigning Premier League champions at the end of June, but City have offered him the chance to extend his seven-year stay at the club.

Guardiola reacts to Mbappe move

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Pep Guardiola has commented on the possibility of Manchester City signing French forward Kylian Mbappe.

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Mbappe’s future is currently up in the air after the 24-year-old sent a letter to his club, Paris Saint-Germain, last week to update them on his current stance.

The pacey forward, whose deal runs out in 2024, stated he did not wish to commit to PSG and would rather bide his time before deciding on his next destination.