Joao Cancelo's Future: Al-Hilal to Barcelona Transfer Saga
Joao Cancelo’s name is back on a shirt at Al-Hilal, but his future still points towards Barcelona.
The Saudi champions have quietly handed the Portuguese full-back the No.20 jersey for the 2026/27 season, the number he wore in his first spell at the club and the one he carries with the Portugal national team. On paper, it looks like a statement of intent.
In reality, it feels more like a holding pattern.
A number in Riyadh, an agreement in Barcelona
Behind that squad list, Barcelona and Al-Hilal are close to finalising a deal worth around €10 million for the 32-year-old, a fee that would allow the Saudi side to recover their investment from his move from Manchester City.
The agreement between the clubs is described as practically complete. Cancelo’s side is even more advanced: his personal terms with Barça have been in place since the end of last season. From the Catalan perspective, this is not a speculative move. It is a reunion already mapped out.
Hansi Flick’s opinion carries weight here. When Cancelo arrived last season, he quickly became a pillar in the German coach’s structure. Across 23 appearances, he scored twice, added three assists and, more importantly, nailed down a starting spot while Alejandro Balde battled muscular problems. Flick saw a defender who could handle both flanks, build play, and cope with the demands of a team that expects to dominate the ball every week.
Those months were enough to convince him: Cancelo, permanently, is worth pushing for.
A simple deal turned saga
On paper, this should have been straightforward. Player wants to stay. Coach wants him. Clubs agree a fee. Announce, pose with scarf, move on.
Instead, the operation has drifted into familiar territory for Barcelona: delay, paperwork, and financial fine print. Fiscal and financial details have slowed the process, turning a seemingly routine transfer into another slow-burning saga for a club that has had too many of them.
Inside the sporting department, the stance is clear. Deco is still driving the move, determined to close it, while Flick continues to plan with Cancelo as part of his squad. The need is obvious: a defender who already understands the club, the pressure, and the coach’s demands, and who can cover both sides of the back line without adaptation time.
But until the signatures land, nothing is official. And that is where Al-Hilal come back into the frame.
Al-Hilal brace for life without Cancelo
Al-Hilal’s decision to assign Cancelo a number does not lock him into their season. It simply reflects the current reality: contractually, he is still their player.
Their planning tells a different story. The club have already moved to sign Mohammed Mahzari, a player who operates in the same position. That recruitment is a clear sign they are preparing for the possibility – and likelihood – of losing the Portuguese defender.
For Al-Hilal, the priority now is financial. Recover the fee they paid to Manchester City, avoid a loss, and move forward with a younger option already in the building. That is why the asking price sits at around €10 million, a figure Barcelona are prepared to match for a player they know inside out.
So Cancelo sits in an unusual limbo: part of Al-Hilal’s squad list, central to Barcelona’s plans, and not fully secured by either.
Training in Saudi, mind in Catalonia
The calendar has not stopped for the uncertainty. Cancelo returned to training with Al-Hilal on August 7 after finishing his post-World Cup holiday. He is back on the pitch, working with the squad, while his future is negotiated in offices thousands of kilometres away.
Officially, he is an Al-Hilal player. Practically, he is a Barcelona target waiting for the final green light.
He knows the dressing room at the Olímpic Lluís Companys, the demands of the club, and the expectations of a fanbase that watched him slot seamlessly into Flick’s system last season. He knows the coach, too, and what is being asked of a full-back in that structure: defend aggressively, attack with conviction, and think like a midfielder when the ball is at his feet.
For Barcelona, Cancelo is not a gamble. He is a known quantity in a squad that still needs reliability in defence.
For Al-Hilal, he is an asset to be maximised one last time.
The number on his back in Riyadh might be 20, but the real figure that matters now is 10 million. Who moves first to finally close it?
