Bayern Munich's sporting director has admitted that Joao Cancelo might be too expensive for the German giants to secure his services permanently.
Cancelo moved from Manchester City to Bayern in a deadline day move, on loan until the end of the current season - with an option to buy for €70m (£62.8m).
But Bayern Munich sporting director Hasan Salihamidzic has said that it might be too much financially for the Portuguese wing-back to join the club on a long-term deal.
Via Get German Football News, Salihamidzic told Bild: 'We play with open cards. The most important thing is that João feels comfortable in Munich and can perform in the second round.
'But we also told him clearly that this sum is difficult for us to imagine in the next few years.'
There is hope that they might be able to reduce Man City's asking price, which would allow them to maintain the services of a player who Salihamidzic and Bayern rated highly for years before his arrival at the Allianz Arena.
The 46-year-old Bosnian said: 'But I have also learned: If all sides absolutely want a common solution, you can also manage it in the end. He knows that he has been one of our dream players for years.'
In midweek, Cancelo featured for 71 minutes of Bayern's 4-0 win at Mainz in the cup, setting up Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting's opener.
He is set to make his Bundesliga debut when they travel to Wolfsburg on Sunday, with Bayern looking to climb back to the top of the table after being overtaken by Union Berlin.
On his move to the German giants, Cancelo claimed that his exit from Manchester City had nothing to do with a reported bust-up at the training ground with Citizens boss Pep Guardiola.
