Barcelona have confirmed the signing of João Cancelo on loan from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal. Cancelo’s move back to Catalunya, where he spent the 2023-24 season, was initially announced earlier on Tuesday, but the club had to delete all traces of this unveiling as the transfer had not actually been completed yet.
Confirmation of Cancelo deal after delay
Barcelona have been on the lookout for defensive reinforcements during the January transfer window and have decided to reunite with their former full-back Cancelo, who will spend the remainder of the 2025-26 season on loan at Camp Nou.
“Now it’s official: Joao Cancelo is once again a Barca player. FC Barcelona and Al Hilal Saudi FC have reached an agreement for the loan of the Portuguese full-back until the end of the season. He will wear the number 2 shirt,” a club statement read.
“The signing ceremony took place this Tuesday at the club’s offices and was attended by FC Barcelona president Joan Laporta, first vice-president Rafael Yuste, board member Joan Soler, and Director of the Football Area Anderson Luis de Souza (Deco), along with the player’s family.”
Barcelona deleted posts of Cancelo deal on Tuesday
Barcelona had, in fact, initially announced the return of Cancelo earlier on Tuesday, only for their posts confirming the deal to disappear under mysterious circumstances. Various reports from Spain, first broken by Catalan outlet Mundo Deportivo, claimed there were still pieces of paperwork to be formally exchanged between Barcelona and Al-Hilal before the deal could be rubber-stamped, hence the hasty deletion of this initial confirmation.
There was fear among the Barca fanbase that the club had completely missed the mark and that the deal was in doubt, given their recent history of financial problems and constraints. However, Barcelona always seemed confident that the issue was minor and that Cancelo would wear their famous red-and-blue again.
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Why have Barcelona re-signed Cancelo?
Last week, Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick admitted that he initially wanted to use the January transfer window to bring in another centre-back. However, after Ronald Araujo’s return from a mental health break, Flick and sporting director Deco pivoted to cover in the full-back areas, leading them to Cancelo.
“I spoke with my staff, and with Deco, we speak a lot. And we think that when Ronald is back, we have good alternatives at centre-back,” Flick admitted. “Joao can play on both sides, he can give us good options. But in the end, until now, it’s not done, but I’d be happy if it goes through. He’s another option for the offence. We talked about signing a centre-back, but I think it makes more sense, I think it is a good option, and a high quality player.
“We’ve had a situation these past two years where we have to be smart about the players we sign. It’s not like the other clubs, who can play hundreds of millions on players. But I think it’s good, you can see our players are progressing. Our young players are developing, and we have faith in them. Now we have the opportunity to bring in a veteran. I’d appreciate it if he comes.”
When could Cancelo make his second Barcelona debut?
Barcelona, fresh from their exploits in Saudi Arabia, where they retained the Supercopa de Espana, are back in action on Thursday with a trip to Racing Santander in the Copa del Rey. That might come too soon for Cancelo and he may instead have eyes on Sunday’s away game at Real Sociedad in La Liga as the chance to make his second debut.
Cancelo is one of a handful of players in Barca’s modern history never to have represented the team at Camp Nou, with his 2023-24 season at the club coming when they played home matches at Montjuic due to renovations at their spiritual home. The Portugal international could make his first home appearance at Camp Nou on January 25 when Real Oviedo come to town.
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