In winter, FC Bayern signed Joao Cancelo from Manchester City on loan until the summer – and also secured an option to buy the right-back. Now Cancelo has revealed why he chose the German record champions.
Joao Cancelo has played for numerous top clubs in European football. Since January, the 28-year-old Portuguese national player has also been able to write FC Bayern in his CV. In an interview on the club’s website, the defender, who is loaned to Munich from Manchester City until the end of the season, explained why he joined the club.
“When I got the opportunity to join this great club, I said yes straight away,” Cancelo said. “I’ve been to Spain, Italy and England and now I wanted to experience football in Germany too,” said the Portuguese, who made the leap into professional football at Benfica SL and via FC Valencia, Inter Milan, Juventus Turin and ManCity finally ended up on Säbener Straße.
“There are three, four, five clubs that stand for themselves – and FC Bayern is of course one of them. Teams like FC Bayern, Manchester City and Real Madrid are always difficult to beat and are among the favorites to win in every season of the Champions League,” Cancelo explained.
It was “an honor” for him to play for the German series champion. “We can take on anyone. We can beat any team,” he added, looking ahead to the challenges ahead.
When asked what particularly struck him about FC Bayern, Cancelo said: “Everyone and everything here is focused on absolute success. Here you work really hard in every single training session – I really like that mentality.”
Cancelo: “Positive” start at Bayern Munich
According to the 28-year-old, who has scored five goals in eleven appearances, he found his start with the German record champions to be “positive”. “There is always a certain amount of adjustment time with footballers. That’s why I tried to integrate myself into the team as quickly as possible, to get to know the new colleagues and the system,” he emphasized, adding: “Everything is going well at team level and on a personal level so far very good.”
Whether Cancelo will stay in Munich beyond the season is still open. FC Bayern could sign the defender via a purchase option for a fixed sum of 70 million euros. Those responsible will probably not make use of it. Instead, one hopes in Munich for another loan or a cheaper price.