Joao Cancelo insisted his shock exit from Manchester City was not down to his relationship with Pep Guardiola and refused to rule out a return to the club.
Cancelo, 28, has joined Bayern on a six-month loan deal that can be made permanent at the end of the season for £61.6m, with Bayern sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic delighted that they have finally landed a player that they have been tracking for some time. Cancelo has been out of favour in recent weeks at City but his departure is still a shock given no defender has been used more by Guardiola this season.
Cancelo's inability to hide his displeasure at not being picked for matches did not tally with Guardiola's insistence that all squad members support each other, and friction between the pair was seen as a contributing factor in the dramatic exit. However, speaking at an introductory press conference in Munich, the full-back denied the claims and also suggested he could return to City in summer despite posting what appeared to be a farewell video to fans on Instagram.
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"I know which video you're talking about," he said. "I might have sounded like a farewell but it wasn't meant to be this way.
"We have to see what the next five months will bring. I want to have a clear head, I want to support the team as good as possible in order to reach our goals. That's my priority for the foreseeable future.
"The contract is now a loan contract and at the end of the season we're going to talk about the situation but now it is important to focus on our goals. All I can say to the fans and to you is that I was enjoying my time at Manchester City and am still under contract at this club.
"During that time I always had the time to be an elite professional and the fans appreciated that, they gave me a lot of that back. I don't see it as a big farewell from the club, I'm very focused on what we can do in the upcoming five months at Bayern Munich and that is my priority.
"My decision was only based on the lack of minutes in the last couple of weeks. There was speculation that my relationship to Pep Guardiola was not the best but the fact is that I just wanted to play more and now I have the opportunity and a dream came true.
"I want to take this new adventure on, a new club with a rich history and that's what we did so I'm very happy about it."
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