Barcelona will have to shell out €20 million in loan fee to sign Portuguese international

According to a report from SPORT, Barcelona have made it one of their priorities to sign Joao Cancelo from Manchester City this coming summer.

The 28-year-old Portuguese international is currently on loan at Bayern Munich, who have the option of signing him permanently for a fee of €70 million. However, the German champions are unlikely to take up that chance, meaning he will be back in England in the summer.

But given his falling out with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, Cancelo will not continue at the Etihad next season and Barcelona wish to capitalise on the situation.

The Blaugrana are aware that a permanent transfer is out of their reach due to the finances that would be involved and are thus exploring the possibility of a loan deal for the former Valencia and Juventus ace.

Cancelo, despite his recent drop in stature, is seen as a top-quality right-back who can go a long way in addressing the Blaugrana’s problems in the position.

However, as per the report, even a loan move for Cancelo will not be cheap as Man City could demand a sum of around €20 million as loan fee for their right-back.

That, coupled with paying the defender’s wages, would again render the move financially unviable for Barcelona.

Hence, they have put the operation on ice for the time being while Cancelo’s agent, Jorge Mendes, works on lowering the loan fee. The La Liga leaders believe that with the passing of time the demands from City could lower and a move could become feasible.

At the same time, however, Barcelona would also need Cancelo to lower his wages as well. So, even a loan move at this point looks tricky.

The likes of Thomas Meunier and Diogo Dalot have been identified as alternatives, but Cancelo is still not completely off the table despite some reports suggesting otherwise.