Bernardo Silva has conceded that the absence of Joao Cancelo is currently being felt by the Manchester City dressing room.
Cancelo joined Bayern Munich on loan until the end of the campaign on the final day of the January transfer window after falling out with Man City boss Pep Guardiola.
Bayern now have an option to make the move permanent for £61.5m in the summer, although the club’s sporting director, Hasan Salihamidzic, has said that a deal on the terms would be “difficult” to complete.
The Portuguese full-back has made an immediate impact at Bayern, registering an assist inside just 18 minutes on his debut and contributing another one in his second game for the club on Sunday.
City’s start to life without Cancelo did not start well, with a 1-0 defeat to Tottenham coming on the same day Bayern Munich beat Wolfsburg 4-2.
Speaking after the game, Silva made it clear that Guardiola’s decision to loan out Cancelo might have a negative impact on their chances of chasing down Arsenal in the Premier League.
“I’m happy for him because it was the path that Joao chose to follow happily in his life,” he told ELEVEN Portugal.
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“[But I’m] Sad for the team and for me that I won’t be able to count on him every day. He knows he’s a person I really like, but he made the best decision for him and I’m happy for him.”
Cancelo has a superb record at City having contributed nine goals and 22 assists in 154 matches since his £60m move from Juventus in 2019. He helped the club win two Premier League titles & two EFL Cups.
Although the move came amid huge tension between the duo, Guardiola has reiterated that Cancelo’s move to the Bundesliga giants is only a temporary one.
“Now, he’s there. We [will] see what happens at the end of the season,” Guardiola said of Cancelo at the weekend. “At the end of the season, we talk many, many things about many, many players.”
He added: “Now, I say that about Joao, it looks like this and everyone says… At the end of the season, every season happens the same, we’re going to talk with many players, [it has] happened since I arrived. Maybe, next season we could continue with absolutely all the players. [There] Could be new ones. I don’t know.
“Ask me about Joao, about myself, nobody knows what is going to happen. Now the transfer window is closed, over. Focus on four months, a little bit more, left. After we will see what happens. I don’t know what happens with any single player.”
