The former defender of Manchester City, Joao Cancelo, discussed his public feud with Pep Guardiola and admitted that he and the Spaniard had “different opinions” during their collaboration at the Etihad Stadium.
The versatile full -back joined the cityzens in 2019 and, during his magic in English football, recorded three titles of the Premier League, the FA Cup and the League Cup for three years.
However, the relationship from Cancero to City and in particular by manager Guardiola emblazoned at the beginning of the 2022/23 campaign when he lost his place in the team against young Rico Lewis.
After expressing his disappointment about his lack of minutes, Cancelo was borrowed to Bayern Munich for the second half of the campaign and spent the following year with Barcelona before finally leaving City permanently last summer after he connected Al Hilal in the Saudi Pro league.
The Portuguese was an important piece of the puzzle during his stay in Manchester, but admitted that he and Guardiola had “differences”, which ultimately led to his exit – although he still welcomed the current city boss as “genius”.
In the last month in conversation with Canal 11, Cancelo explained: “[Inverted full-backs] Was a lot of earnings and work from Guardiola, it let me see football in other ways. For me it is a genius, flawless and he changed the way I see the game today.
“We had differences, no collision, we had different opinions. I have a very strong personality. He does it too, but he is the one who is responsible. We went separate ways, but I thank God for working with him. He is a genius, he is a world leader in terms of training.
“The best moments of my career were in Manchester City. I went to training and the games I am amused. I felt important in this group. He let me grow as a man and player.”
He added: “I didn’t want to continue in Manchester City and they didn’t want me to continue. So there were a number of reasons [for signing for Al Hilal]. There were a few clubs who were interested in Europe, but Al Hilal was always the club that was most interested. “
This season, Cancelo has made 31 appearances for Al Hilal and still found the Portugal squad in recent international breaks, with the 30-year-old still being the world’s leading full-back.