On 7 August 2019, Cancelo joined English Premier League champions Manchester City. The deal was a six-year deal worth £27.4 million, with Danilo joining Juventus as part of the deal, equalling to £60 million. This made João Cancelo the most expensive right-back ever. He made his Premier League debut on August 25, 2019 in a 3-1 win against Bournemouth, where he came on as a substitute for Kyle Walker. He scored his first goal for Manchester City on December 18, 2019, in a 3–1 win against Oxford United in the EFL Cup quarter-finals.