To say that news of Man City’s decision to let Joao Cancelo depart for Bayern Munich as we near the end of the January transfer window was a shock to the wider footballing community is something of an understatement.
After all, the Portugal international was one of City’s star players last season as they won the Premier League and has been named in the PFA Premier League Team of the Year in the last two seasons. Meanwhile, he started 51 of his 52 appearances in all competitions last year, registering three goals and 10 assists.
Such form saw him rewarded with an improved contract last February, extending his deal with City until 2027, while he was handed the number seven shirt in the summer with his inverted left-back role crucial to Pep Guardiola’s set-up since signing from Juventus in a £60m swap deal, costing £27.4m and Danilo, back in August 2019.
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This is of course what we all see from the outside, yet he has admittedly not been an ever-present at City in recent weeks. In truth, he has gradually fallen out of favour since being turned by Mohamed Salah in the Anfield centre-circle back in October, with the Egyptian going on to score the winner for Liverpool as Guardiola dropped to his knees. Relations with his manager have reportedly soured even more since the World Cup and a furious reaction to being left out of the starting XI for their FA Cup win over Arsenal last week was said to be the final straw for the pair's relationship.
In City’s 17 matches since that defeat at Anfield, Cancelo has started eight times. From those eight matches, he was subbed off at half-time against both Borussia Dortmund and Chelsea, while he was sent off midway through the first half against Fulham.
Completing 90 minutes just twice since the World Cup restart last month, Man City lost both matches to Southampton and Manchester United. They are their only losses since returning to action, while he has been left an unused substitute in five of their last 10 outings, including their last three matches since those back-to-back defeats.
In the meantime, the likes of Nathan Ake and academy graduate Rico Lewis have shone at full-back at his expense. Now as the transfer window nears its close, City are sanctioning a loan exit to Bayern Munich, with the deal reportedly including a £61.5m buy option for the Bundesliga giants.
It’s a ruthless decision and will understandably prompt raised eyebrows. Even if it is the case of an impatient full-back pushing for a move after a few weeks in reserve, the fact that City are willing to sanction his exit says a lot.
Aged 28, Cancelo should be at the peak of his powers. Yet one of the first names on Guardiola’s team-sheet only a few short months ago, the Spaniard has wasted no time in deciding City’s future doesn’t include the Portuguese. Seemingly he has seen enough both on the pitch and in training to decide the defender is perhaps past his best and his side can’t cope perfectly fine without him.
Such a decision is not one we have seen at Liverpool, however, with Jurgen Klopp accused in the past of being too loyal to his players. With the Reds out-of-form and low on confidence, stuck suffering a transitional season with an ageing squad, full of injury prone players past their prime, perhaps this is where they have gone wrong?
While Sadio Mane was sold to Bayern Munich at a profit in the summer for £35m, the 30-year-old had a year left on his contract and it was his decision to depart. Yet predominantly Liverpool retain such players, tying them down to long-term contracts before waving them off on Bosman transfers when their deals expire.
Under Klopp’s watch alone Mario Balotelli, Jose Enrique, Lazar Markovic, Emre Can, Daniel Sturridge, Alberto Moreno, Nathaniel Clyne, Adam Lallana, Gini Wijnaldum, Divock Origi, and Loris Karius have all left the club on free transfers after their own big-money moves to Anfield. While you can’t dispute the departure of most of these players, Liverpool spent a combined £154m when signing them and then banked nothing when they left.
Meanwhile, the likes of Roberto Firmino, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, and Naby Keita are currently poised to join such a list come the summer, potentially taking that total of vanishing millions up to £275.75m.
The Brazilian was 26 when he signed his last Reds contract extension in April 2018, agreeing an improved deal for a further five years. Meanwhile, he could end up staying put at Anfield on reduced terms, akin to James Milner’s annual extensions in recent years.
But a large number of players have signed similar long-term extensions in recent years when aged even older, with the club looking to tie them down and reward them for Liverpool winning every major trophy going since 2018. While no-one was complaining at the time as the Reds retained their squad at its peak, they are now left with a side past its best on well-paid deals.
Andy Robertson and Fabinho were 27 when they agreed new five-year contracts in August 2021, while Alisson Becker was 28 when he signed his own six-year extension the same month. Meanwhile Jordan Henderson and Virgil van Dijk were 31 and 30 respectively when penning new four-year deals at the same time.
Mohamed Salah became the best-paid player in Liverpool history when signing a new three-year deal last summer shortly after his 30th birthday. Meanwhile, Joel Matip was 28 when handed a five-year contract in October 2019, while the Reds handed a 29-year Thiago Alcantara a four-year contract when bringing him to Anfield in September 2020.
In truth, it would be a surprise to see Liverpool cash in on any of these players unless they asked to leave, like Mane last summer. With their resale value only dwindling, the Reds are staring at more lost millions as their squad continues to age.
They have faced this plight before, of course. It was Graeme Souness’ main accusation of the squad he inherited on the eve of the Premier League era, that Liverpool boasted too many ageing players who, while serving the club well, were past their best and seeing out their well-paid contracts. Perhaps the Reds have repeated the same mistake again.
Cancelo’s exit to Bayern is a shock, as was Mane’s last summer. But if Liverpool had boasted that same ruthless edge over the years rather than predictable loyalty, perhaps they wouldn’t now find themselves stuck in transition.
Ultimately, the Reds have faced many difficult decisions and have ended up seeing them fall into the hands of others. That was fine when those players were winning Liverpool trophies, with such success ensuring there were no questions to answer. But now the same players are letting the club down and such a strategy has failed them, with Man City’s latest outgoing showing them exactly where they have gone wrong.
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