It has been said before that ‘a change will do you good’, with obvious benefits to be found in stepping out of a supposed comfort zone from time to time. Nobody wants to become stuck in their ways or to accept the hand that they have been dealt when the grass really does look greener on the other side.
In the case of João Cancelo, January 2023 was deemed to be the moment at which his professional wings should be spread once more. After three and a half largely productive years in England, the versatile Portugal international has traded life in Manchester for that over in Munich.
Surprise
Joao Cancelo in red ? pic.twitter.com/fqWg60eJc4
Leaving Premier League champions City may have come as a surprise to many, but regular game time was proving hard to come by and it is difficult to ignore calls from Bavaria once Bundesliga giants Bayern come calling.
Cancelo has certainly taken a sideways step, rather than a backwards one, with a place in the ranks of one dominant outfit traded for a spot in another. Whether turning out at the Etihad Stadium or the Allianz Arena, the expectation is to play and win.
City and Bayern can call upon vast followings from around the world and will forever be a favoured choice for those looking to put money where their mouth is. Both boast the trophy collections to justify such a standing and will continue to earn widespread support from the terraces and further afield whenever they take to the field.
Punters flock to nail colours to the sturdiest of masts in sportsbooks from Arizona to the Algarve. Anybody new to the game who is seeking advice on how to choose a free welcome bonus will likely have the likes of City and Bayern in mind when taking advantage of risk-fee bets and deposit bonuses from DraftKings, FanDuel, bet365 and beyond.
It is the desire to compete for the most prestigious of prizes that has convinced Cancelo that he is making the right choice in heading for Germany. It is, however, yet to be determined quite how long that adventure will last. Talk of the buccaneering full-back suffering a falling out with Pep Guardiola has been played down by all parties, with Cancelo saying: “There was speculation that my relationship with Pep was not the best but the fact is I wanted to play more.”
Price
2️⃣ games, 2️⃣ assists
— FC Bayern Munich (@FCBayernEN) February 5, 2023
Feeling right at home ? pic.twitter.com/Ekaj0hK39B
Guardiola has backed that up, but admits that he cannot say with any certainty whether Cancelo will ever be welcomed back onto his books. Bayern have already made it clear that they would like to lock a long-term target down for the foreseeable future, with sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic saying: “If all sides really want a common solution, you can manage one in the end.”
The major stumbling block for Bayern will be a supposed €70 million ($74 million) asking price, a fee that would be the second-biggest in their history. With such an outlay difficult to justify, and with questions suddenly being asked of how long Guardiola will be sticking around at City, it may be that Cancelo’s change of scenery does not last long and he finds himself retracing steps to familiar surroundings in Manchester within a matter of months.
