Joao Cancelo confessed he initially regretted his decision to leave Juventus for Manchester City and took several months to change his mind.
The Portugal international has just signed a new contract to June 2027, but told the official club website that it all could’ve been very different.
“In my first months, I wasn’t extremely happy about my decision to join Manchester City,” said the 27-year-old.
“I came from a club that I also like a lot, Juventus. I spoke to my girlfriend, and we agreed that I had to make the best out of myself to be able to play.”
Cancelo made the transfer for €65m in the summer of 2019, just a year after Juventus had picked him up from Valencia for €40m.
He spent the season before that in Serie A too, on loan at Inter, but the Nerazzurri did not make the move permanent.
By his own telling, it took quite a while for Cancelo to really settle in and accept this new stage of his career at Manchester City.
“As of December-January onwards, I started playing regularly so that makes a player happier. We players always want to play, but always with the aim of helping the team to achieve its goals.”
Cancelo has turned into one of the best right-backs in the sport, scoring three goals and providing eight assists in his 30 competitive appearances for City so far this season.
The product of the Benfica youth academy can also play on the right side of defence.