Joao Cancelo wants to stay at Manchester City as long as possible, dismissing any suggestion of a transfer away from the Etihad in the next few years.
Cancelo, 28, joined City in 2019 and was strongly linked with an exit in January 2020 after an unconvincing start to life at the club. However, he stayed in Manchester and has since become a key player for City on both sides of the defence, as well as pushing up into midfield as an inverted full-back.
As a result, he has been praised by many as one of the best full-backs in the world, and earlier this year signed a contract extension until 2027. Now, reflecting on his progress at City, Cancelo says he intends to remain at City for "many more years".
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Cancelo pointed towards the reaction to his recent mistake at Liverpool as justification that he is at the right club - when he was beaten on the halfway line by Mohamed Salah, who went on to score the game's only goal. The level of support he received, he says, drives him to repay his teammates and fans with titles at the end of the season.
Speaking to the City magazine, Cancelo said: "Manchester City was the most important step I took in my career. Of course, I've been in big clubs such as Benfica, Valencia, Inter, Juventus. But I think that, right now, Manchester City is in another level.
“I decided to come here, but of course, the first six months weren't very good. I needed a period to adapt. But now I'm much more integrated here and I hope to stay many more years, because here is where I feel good.
"I can talk about this, because after my mistake against Liverpool last month - an individual mistake who gave the three points to Liverpool - the people supported me, and I felt the love from our fans, and I want to give it back to them in the future. I want to give them titles because it's the best way to repay them for the support they have given me.”
Cancelo also discussed his progress under Pep Guardiola, saying his positional and tactical versatility is largely down to working with the City manager.
He explained: “I know I will make mistakes. I'm a player who loves to take risks, and my principles are these - I work to achieve success and that's what I try to achieve every day.
“Pep was a very important person in my evolution. He is a manager who changed not only my capacities but also my way of seeing football. He made me a much more versatile player than I was before. He made me smarter too, made me watch the game in a different way with his philosophy, that, like I already said previously, is the best.
“His philosophy is the one I identify myself more with. And when you work with a person with the same ideas, it's easier to achieve success.
“As a player, yes, I'm versatile. I'm originally a right-back, but I can also play the role of left-back, because in Benfica I've played many times as a left-back and this made easier for me to play on both sides. But I'm ready to play in any position that the manager wants to put me."
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