By Dylan Bettencourt
João Cancelo is considered one of the best full-backs in the world, so why on earth would Pep Guardiola let him go to Bayern Munich on loan?
It’s because Guardiola has chosen team morale over one individual’s desires, no matter how good that individual is at football.
The Portuguese international is reported to have fallen out with Guardiola after being placed on the bench for the third straight fixture on Friday night against Arsenal in the FA Cup.
Football players can be very influential inside a football club, and we have seen in the past managers being the first ones out the door after a falling out with a player.
Several managers like José Mourinho and Frank Lampsrd have seen pressure from players become the reason behind their downfall.
But Guardiola has come out on top. In getting rid of Cancelo, having already sold Zinchenko to Arsenal in the Summer, Guardiola has left his team short of left-backs. But the sacrifice was worth it for the morale boost – and good morale is what Manchester City needs most of all.
They are five points off Arsenal who still have a game in hand, and were recently knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Southampton.
The last thing City and Guardiola need is outbursts from players and risking a player uprising.
One bad apple spoils the whole bunch, and Cancelo was the bad apple that has been shipped off to Munich.
The 28-year-old will sign a loan deal with the German champions who have the option to purchase Cancelo in the summer transfer window.
Guardiola is one the best managers of all-time and perhaps that is the reason he was able to send Cancelo off without facing any backlash from fans or the City board.
It certainly is a major sacrifice but one the Spanish manager had to make to ensure the sanity of his squad.
For Cancelo on the other hand, his reputation, while slightly hindered, will not be damaged too much.
The manager of a football club is the boss of the players, and disrespecting the boss can get a player into serious trouble. But in modern football players can often come together to get the manager sacked, but not when it is Pep Guardiola at the helm.
Pictured above: João Cancelo and Pep Guardiola
Image source: Premier League
