Top 5 Players Who Fell Out With Guardiola After Cancelo Called Man City Boss a Liar

Top 5 Players Who Fell Out With Guardiola After Cancelo Called Man City Boss a Liar

Elijah Odetokun
March 24, 2024 at 4:17 PM
In this article:
João Cancelo logo
J. Cancelo
FC Barcelona logoDPortugal logo
Samuel Eto'o logo
S. Eto'o
-FCameroon logo
Zlatan Ibrahimović logo
Z. Ibrahimović
AC Milan logoFSweden logo
Yaya Touré logo
Y. Touré
Qingdao FC logoMIvory Coast logo
Cesc Fàbregas logo
C. Fàbregas
Como logoMSpain logo
Joe Hart logo
J. Hart
Celtic FC logoGEngland logo
Manchester City logo
Manchester City
England
26
FC Barcelona logo
FC Barcelona
Spain
35
Bayern Munich logo
Bayern Munich
Germany
38
  • Joao Cancelo fell out with Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola last year
  • He spent the second half of the 2022/23 season on loan in Germany
  • He is currently on a season-long loan at Spanish club FC Barcelona

Joao Cancelo was shipped out on loan to Bayern Munich by Manchester City in the winter transfer window of 2023 after a fallout with manager Pep Guardiola.

The defender joined Barcelona on a season-long loan at the start of the 2023/24 season, and he looks forward to making the move permanent in the summer.

Joao Cancelo, Pep Guardiola, Manchester City, Barcelona, Camp Nou.
Pep Guardiola passing instructions to Joao Cancelo during a friendly game between Manchester City and Barcelona. Photo by Alex Caparros.
Source: Getty Images

In an interview with A Bola, he labelled the manager a liar and the club ungrateful for their version of the incident, which he has denied any wrongdoing.

Sports Brief looks at five other players who fell out with the Spanish boss.

Players who fell out with Guardiola

1. Yaya Toure

The Ivorian midfielder left Barcelona during Guardiola's time, and the boss sent him out again when the two reunited at Man City. Per Goal, his agent Dimitri Selim placed a curse on the manager that he will never win the Champions League again, but claimed it was lifted before last season's final.

2. Zlatan Ibrahimovic

The Swede superman spent only a season with Pep before being moved to AC Milan on loan despite signing him for £59 million. Ibrahimovic was displeased with not getting enough playing time. He made an analogy of a Ferrari and a Fiat.

3. Samuel Eto'o

Eto'o was one of the players Guardiola publicly claimed were no longer in his plays when he took over the first team at Barca. The Cameroonian stayed a season before joining Jose Mourinho at Inter Milan, winning consecutive trebles. He admitted his relationship with the Spaniard wasn't what he hoped for.

4. Joe Hart

Hart’s inability to be a ball-playing goalkeeper made Guardiola ditch him despite being one of the league's best shot-stoppers and England’s number 1. The former English international claimed he was not given an opportunity to prove himself.

5. Cesc Fabregas

Fabregas was a La Masia product before joining Arsenal in 2003. He returned to Barcelona in 2011 and spent only a season before Pep left the club. He admitted he had no personal relationship with him during their time together.

Alexander Hleb at Barcelona and Dante at Bayern Munich are two other players who had issues with the manager.

Eto'o picks Mourinho over Guardiola

Sports Brief previously reported on Eto'o rating Mourinho over Guardiola, having played for the two managers and achieved the same level of success under both.

The Cameroonian football legend aimed a dig at the Spanish manager, claiming his rival did at Porto what he couldn't do at perennial winners Bayern Munich.

Authors
Elijah Odetokun photo
Elijah Odetokun
Elijah Odetokun is Reuters-trained journalist with three years of experience having previously worked at Daily Times Nigeria, OmaSports and El Futbolero.