Joao Cancelo says he will hang up his boots in international football if Portugal win the World Cup next summer, but he won't stop speaking his mind, even if that has cost him his place at more than one club. Cancelo was a surprise January exit in 2023, unhappy at losing his Manchester City place to Rico Lewis. Pep Guardiola, clearly not impressed with Cancelo's timing, allowed the full-back to join Bayern Munich on loan. He would return the following summer on tour, but having called him 'Mr Cancelo', Guardiola never really looked like he wanted to welcome Cancelo back into the fold. Barcelona took him for a year and he left permanently for just £21m this year. Both Cancelo and Guardiola have remained polite and political when talking about the manner of his prolonged City exit. And in an interview last month Cancelo insisted that Guardiola is a 'genius' who reprogrammed his view of football. Yet with time passing, Cancelo opened up on his mindset and the disagreement between player and coach that led to an abrupt ending at the Etihad. "[Inverted full-backs] was a lot of merit and work from Guardiola, it made me see football in a different way. For me he is a genius, impeccable and he changed the way I see the game today," Cancelo told Canal 11 last month. "We had differences, not a clash, we had different opinions. "I have a very strong personality. He does too, but he's the one in charge. We went our separate ways, but I thank God for having worked with him. He's a genius, he's a world leader in terms of training. The best moments of my career were at Manchester City. I went to training and games enjoying myself. I felt important in this group. He made me grow as a man and a player. "I didn't want to continue at Manchester City and they didn't want me to continue. So there were a number of reasons [for signing for Al Hilal]. There were a few clubs interested in Europe, but Al Hilal was always the club that was most interested." Cancelo insists he hasn't regretted his move to Saudi Arabia won't change his approach to speaking his mind, however, saying: “We all have good and bad things. I have always been transparent and sometimes I prefer to harm myself and say things to my face, rather than hide them. I think my personality. "I am transparent and sometimes this is not positive for other people. When I'm sad or happy, people know. I leave nothing unsaid. I will continue to be the same as I am. Portugal are vying for a Nations League semi-final spot on Sunday having lost their quarter-final first leg vs Denmark by one goal. The 30-year-old has 60 international caps and has spoken of a return to Benfica before he retires, despite his insistence that he is settled in Saudi Arabia. City have moved on and won't look back on the Cancelo saga, which only serves as a reminder of the cost of crossing Guardiola. Here at the Manchester Evening News, we’re dedicated to bringing you the best Manchester City coverage and analysis. Make sure you don’t miss out on the latest City news by joining our free WhatsApp group. You can get all the breaking news and best analysis sent straight to your phone by clicking here to subscribe. You can also subscribe to our free newsletter service. Click here to be sent all the day’s biggest stories. And finally, if you’d rather listen to our expert analysis then make sure to check out our Talking City podcast. Our shows are available on all podcast platforms, including Spotify and Apple Podcasts, and you can also watch along on YouTube.