Barcelona pull the plug on Joao Cancelo pursuit

Joao Cancelo’s future at Manchester City has been the subject of frenzied speculation following interest from La Liga champions Barcelona.

Barca were plotting a summer swoop for the Cityzens outcast to strengthen the right-back position earlier this month.

However, according to Sport, the Catalans’ financial turmoil has rendered their hopes of taking the 29-year-old away from the Etihad Stadium dead in the water.

Barcelona first enquired about the Portugal international’s availability last winter after Xavi identified him as an ideal option to give his side the necessary depth on the right-hand side.

Man City refused Barca’s proposal to let the former Inter Milan and Juventus defender join them on loan and shipped him out to Bayern Munich instead.

But Cancelo failed to impress the perennial Bundesliga champions during his brief stint at the Allianz Arena and is now at Pep Guardiola’s mercy again.

The pair had a fallout midway through last season, which was the principal reason behind the right-back’s switch to Munich, meaning his future in Manchester is as good as dead.

Guardiola addressed Xavi’s accusations of him obstructing Cancelo’s move to Camp Nou last month, reinforcing Blaugrana’s hopes of getting the deal over the line this summer.

That was before Barcelona took a peek into their finances which made them realise Cancelo’s fee and wages would be well outside their reach, forcing them to back off.

Barca’s best hope of fulfiling Xavi’s wish to bring in the versatile defender is to convince Man City to sanction a loan move, but that’s likely to prove rather complicated.

Guardiola wants his misfit out of his all-conquering side permanently, which effectively rules Barcelona out of the race.

This latest turn of events comes as a hammer blow to Xavi’s bid to find a suitable candidate to challenge Jules Kounde for a place in his starting line-up.

He’s currently stuck with Sergino Dest and Julian Araujo as the only alternatives in the right-back position, with the latter on the cusp of joining Las Palmas on loan.