Manchester City announce £21m transfer as third summer departure confirmed

Joao Cancelo has finalised a £21m exit from Manchester City, becoming the club’s third major departure this summer.

A €25m (£21m) fee was agreed on Monday between City and Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal for the Portugal international’s permanent transfer, with Cancelo since finalising personal terms.

Cancelo’s departure brings a tumultuous 20 months at City to an end. The full-back hasn’t played a competitive game for City since January 2023, the same month he had a high-profile fallout with Pep Guardiola.

A loan to Bayern Munich subsequently followed, before a short-term stint at Barcelona last season. But Guardiola had said earlier this month that it was possible Cancelo would remain with City this campaign.

“We will see, maybe stay, maybe go on loan. I don't know yet,” the Catalan said on 16 August. “He's training with us, behaving really well in the training sessions. He loves to play football. We will see. It can happen, yeah [that he stays].”

However, Tuesday’s announcement brings the long-running transfer saga to a definitive end, as City confirmed the player’s permanent departure.

“I would like to wish everyone at City continued success in the future,” Cancelo told the club’s website. “I had many very special moments during my time here at this great club. I would like to thank my team-mates, the coaches, all the staff at City and the fans for everything during my time here.”

The 30-year-old made 154 appearances for City, in a career that includes spells at some of Europe's biggest clubs, including: Barcelona, Bayern, Juventus, Inter Milan, Valencia and Benfica.

But a move to the middle east is next for Cancelo, who will team up with international team-mate Ruben Neves at Al-Hilal, in addition to Neymar, Kalidou Koulibaly, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Sergej Milinkovic-Savic.

He becomes City’s third permanent departure of the window, following Sergio Gomez and Julian Alvarez. Kavin Phillips and Maximo Perrone have also left on loan this summer.