Joao Cancelo has rejoined Barcelona after mutual terminating his contract at Al Hilal.
The Athletic reported on July 8 that Cancelo, 32, was set to return to Catalonia on a two-year contract in a deal worth around €10million.
Barcelona announced on Thursday he has now joined as a free agent, following the cancellation of his terms with the Saudi Pro League side.
Cancelo spent the second half of last season on loan at Barcelona, and appeared 23 times in all competitions, helping Hansi Flick’s side successfully retain the Spanish league title. It was his second temporary spell with the club, having also spent a season on loan from Manchester City in 2023-24.
The Portugal international joined Al Hilal from City in August 2024 for €25million (£21.4m; $28.7m), and played 39 times in his debut campaign — including five games at last year’s Club World Cup — helping his side to a second-placed finish in the Saudi Pro League.
Cancelo, who appeared in each of Portugal’s matches at this summer’s World Cup, is a three-time Premier League winner with City, and played a part in their treble success in the 2022-23 season, despite spending the second half of the campaign on loan at Bayern Munich.
His arrival at Barcelona comes during a summer which has seen multiple outgoings, including defender Ronald Araujo, the central defender who was capable of playing at right-back — where Cancelo can operate.
Ferran Torres, Robert Lewandowski, Marc-Andre ter Stegen, Inaki Pena and Ansu Fati have all departed, while Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi and Jesse Bisiwu have joined the club.
Cancelo’s back – and this time he’s here to stay
Analysis
Joao Cancelo is back at Barcelona for a third time – and now here to stay.
The 32-year-old joining on a permanent move to the Catalan club was widely expected at Barca after his successful loan spell last season. Cancelo managed to establish himself as the starting left-back for Hansi Flick after arriving in January, and convinced the manager he still is a very useful asset for this team.
Last week, Cancelo had his contract with Al Hilal terminated and flew over to Barcelona.
As he landed in the city, he spoke to local media at the airport and said he was willing to do anything to join Barca.
“Deco already knew it, Barca was the only option for me,” he said. “I was joining Barca or staying at Al Hilal even without playing anything and earning my salary”.
Cancelo had fallen out of favour with Al Hilal manager, Simone Inzaghi, and was not an important part of the club’s plans.
Cancelo is expected to compete for the same left-back spot with La Masia graduate Alejandro Balde, who has not managed to fully convince Flick over the past couple of seasons. While promising, Balde did not progress as Flick expected and Barca found in Cancelo a more complete player last season – especially on the offensive end of the pitch.
The Portugal international has against him the fact he could not do preseason with the rest of his teammates, which gives Balde a head start to be in the line-up in Barcelona´s La Liga opener this weekend. But Cancelo still has a big chance to make the spot his own in the near future.
His versatility being able to play in both flanks is another feature that has helped Cancelo’s case, especially in a Barcelona backline that will need contributions from every individual if, as it looks right now, they don’t add a new centre-half.
