Joao Cancelo left Manchester City to sign for Al Hilal this summer, ending his topsy-turvy five-year relationship with the club.

During his first season at the Etihad Stadium, the Portuguese international struggled to displace Kyle Walker as City's first-choice right-back.

However, Cancelo delivered in the following campaign - as his redemption was a reminder of why it might be premature to doubt whether new signings will succeed under Pep Guardiola at Manchester City.

The former Juventus defender played both as a right-back and a left-back, emerging as one of the Sky Blues' most important players as they reached their first-ever Champions League final while winning the Premier League and the Carabao Cup.

In his third season at Manchester City, Cancelo was terrific once again as he primarily played as his side's left-back.

However, things seemingly went awry for the ex-Inter Milan full-back after the Qatar World Cup as he headed to Bayern Munich on loan in January before heading to Barcelona on yet another loan last season; with both moves not being made permanent before his switch to Saudi Arabia.

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Ally McCoist questioned Cancelo's decision to readily head to the Saudi Pro League at 30 years of age.

For the most part, Cancelo was quite reliable in defence, exhibiting his qualities as one of the best attacking full-backs in Europe.

But on other occasions, the experienced campaigner's defensive frailties stuck out like a sore thumb.

Especially in the Champions League during Barcelona's 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain during the second leg of the quarter-final during the previous campaign.

At the end of his spell, the club chose to part ways with Cancelo.

But now, Joan Laporta has revealed why Barcelona decided not to sign the Al Hilal technician from Manchester City this summer.

The Barcelona president said via Mundo Deportivo: "In the team configuration that Deco and [Hansi] Flick have made, they have decided not to include them. They were on loan and have gone their separate ways. Joao [Felix] is at Chelsea and [Joao] Cancelo is in Saudi Arabia."

Man City should be glad Barcelona did not sign Joao Cancelo Ultimately, Manchester City were able to take home a PS21.1 million (ESPN) fee from Cancelo's sale to Al Hilal - a sum they potentially would struggle to get if they negotiated with Barcelona.

The Spanish giants have had their financial woes over the years and as a result, it could have been a possibility that there was a sense of uncertainty around a deal involving the former Valencia right-back.

Cancelo was surplus to requirements at Manchester City and as a result, their priority would have been to get him off their books and bank a fee from his sale.

But this very plan could have been in jeopardy if Barcelona were interested yet found it tough to seal a deal for his signing.

Joan Laporta's answer indicates his side's lack of interest in signing Cancelo permanently and Manchester City moved on and did business with Al Hilal.

The Catalan side already have a talented, young left-back in Alejandro Balde on their books, City have seemingly moved on from signing attacking full-backs while the Saudi Arabian heavyweight got their man.