Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo has completed a transfer deadline day loan move to German giants Bayern Munich.
The Portuguese international full-back will join the club until the end of the season on an initial loan deal. The Bundesliga club have an option to make the transfer permanent for a fee of €70 million ($76 million).
Cancelo, who last year extended his contract at City until 2027, has started 16 league games for the club this season but has not played for them since their derby defeat to Manchester United earlier this month.
He has been absent from the team for the last three games and has started only three of the 10 games since the World Cup break. Both Nathan Ake and 18-year-old Rico Lewis have moved ahead of him in City manager Pep Guardiola's pecking order.
"We've signed him on loan now and have the possibility of signing him permanently in the summer," said Bayern's sports director Hasan Salihamidzic.
"Joao is a player we've been thinking about for a while now because we very much appreciate his qualities. He's the optimal fit in our system with his attacking style of play and dynamism, and his mentality and experience fit very well in our team."
Since arriving at City in 2019 Cancelo has won two Premier League titles. He was also named in the Premier League Team of the Year for the past two seasons.
"FC Bayern is a great club, one of the best in the world, and it's enormous motivation for me to now play alongside these extraordinary players in a team," Cancelo said.
"I know that this club, this team lives for titles and wins titles every year. I'm also driven by the hunger for success. I'll give my best for FC Bayern."
Bayern lead the Bundesliga but have not won a game since the restart after the World Cup. They have drawn three straight games and their lead over Union Berlin has shrunk to a single point.
Cancelo scored five goals and contributed 11 assists in 98 Premier League games for City.
The 28-year-old can play on the left or right, giving Bayern much-needed options after left-sided defender Lucas Hernandez injured his knee at the World Cup and right-back Noussair Mazraoui has inflamed tissue around his heart after a Covid-19 infection.
Cancelo came through Benfica’s youth system before leaving for Valencia, initially on loan, in 2014. He later joined Inter Milan on loan before switching to Italian rival Juventus in 2018. He joined City a year later.
