Joao Cancelo was understandably taken aback when a Portugal reporter told him that he had a new Bayern Munich manager after helping his country beat Lichtenstein 4-0 during last month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers. “Thanks to [Julian] Nagelsmann, he was the one who wanted me at Bayern.
All the luck in the world to him,” he said in response. In truth, he may have been quietly relieved to see the back of the man under whom he’d started just three of seven Bundesliga games.
Perhaps he views Thomas Tuchel’s arrival as a reset and a restart. Under Nagelsmann, Cancelo had played right back, left back, right wing and left wing - probably not the kind of scenario he would have envisioned last season. READ MORE: Erling Haaland injury call will show Man City run-in priority The 28-year-old was the Premier League's best left-back last term and was named in the FifPro World XI in February as a nod to his efforts at Manchester City.
But after being a key starter for the Blues, Cancelo was ousted by Nathan Ake and - argument or not - facilitated a move to Bayern.