Manchester City’s Ruben Dias calls the prospect of playing Joao Cancelo ‘Strange’ as the former teammates prepare to battle in the Champions League… as he reveals he is still in a relationship with the Bayern Munich mercenary
Ruben Dias called the prospect of taking on his former Manchester City team-mate Joao Cancelo “weird” as the pair prepare to line up against each other as Bayern Munich travel to the Etihad for their Champions League quarter-final.
The pair also play together for the Portugal national team, and Dias admitted it would be a bit unsettling to see Cancelo as an opponent on Tuesday night.
Before the game, Dias said, “It will be strange. [But] it will be good to play against [Cancelo].
‘Especially after our time here together, we have built up a special bond, so we have been in touch.
“But when the game starts, everyone is on their own side.”
Joao Cancelo returns to the Etihad for the first time since moving to Bayern in January
As teammates at City and Portugal, Dias will find it ‘strange’ to play against him
Cancelo and Dias played together at City for two and a half years before Cancelo joined on loan
Dias and Cancelo moved to Manchester within a year of each other and played together for two and a half years before Cancelo pushed for a move to the Bundesliga four months ago.
The Portuguese full-back made the decision to leave Pep Guardiola’s City line-up after falling out of favor with his Catalan manager.
But after struggling to find form under former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann, it looks unlikely the Bavarian giants will exercise their purchase option after his loan spell expires in May.
During this Champions League campaign, Cancelo will now play under new Bayern manager Thomas Tuchel – who famously defeated Guardiola’s side in the final of the 2021 tournament.
Thinking back to that final in Porto, Dias said that ‘it’s never easy to lose a final like that’.
But he claimed he was the type to keep looking forward to the next opportunity instead of dwelling on past failures.
‘A wise man once said to me: we didn’t lose the final, we just got one step closer.
“I keep these words close to me. Every year it’s about getting closer and closer.
“We’re still in pursuit.”
The centre-back, who has won three trophies with City, including two Premier League titles, said City were ‘hungry’ to lift their first Champions League trophy this year.
Dias believes Chelsea’s loss in the 2021 final has moved City one step closer to victory
‘The hunger is there to win. It’s going to be a tough match [against Bayern] and we have to be at our best.
‘We did very well [in the past] but it’s not enough – you either do it or you don’t.’
City are in blistering form in the league, most recently placing seven past a tumbled RB Leipzig in the 16-match second leg.
Sportsmail’s Dominic King met City after a strong Premier League restart after the international break and previously revealed that Bayern were apprehensive about the match, following the hasty appointment of Tuchel just over two weeks ago.