Joao Cancelo Training with Al-Hilal While Barcelona Negotiates Transfer
Joao Cancelo is training in Saudi Arabia. His head, though, is still in Barcelona.
The Portuguese full-back reported for duty with Al-Hilal last Friday, a move forced more by paperwork than by choice, as Barcelona and the Saudi club edge towards the final stretch of negotiations over a permanent transfer. The deal is not done yet, but inside the Catalan club there is little doubt about how this story ends.
A Deal Stuck on the Details
Barcelona have been locked in talks with Al-Hilal for weeks, working to turn Cancelo’s latest loan into a full-time return to the Spotify Camp Nou. According to Spanish newspaper Marca, the agreement is practically sealed. What remains are tax-related details, the kind of bureaucratic loose ends that slow everything down without putting the operation at real risk.
Those technicalities have dragged the process out longer than Barcelona expected. They have also created the strange image of Cancelo back in Al-Hilal colours while everyone involved quietly waits for the green light that should send him back to Catalonia for good.
A Player Who Has Chosen His Home
Cancelo, 32, did not hide his frustration at having to rejoin the Saudi side while the final signatures are still missing. The Portugal international has made it clear, repeatedly and publicly, that he sees his future under Hansi Flick.
In recent hours he has underlined that stance again. For him, his “beginning and end” lies with Barcelona: the stadium, the dressing room, the routine of life at the club. He considers the Camp Nou his home and the squad his family, a powerful statement for a player who has moved through some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
He chose to show it, not just say it. On social media, Cancelo posted a photo of himself celebrating a goal in a Barcelona shirt, a simple image that carried a very direct message: he wants to stay, permanently. Inside the club, officials have rallied behind that position, openly appreciating both his performances and his insistence on returning.
Third Time, This Time to Stay
Barcelona’s hierarchy are now working against the clock to make this his third spell at the club, and the first not defined by the word “loan”. Cancelo first arrived from Manchester City on a temporary deal for the 2023–2024 season, then came back again from Al-Hilal for the 2025–2026 campaign.
This time, the plan is different. The intention is a full transfer, a permanent signing that would finally give Flick a long-term solution at full-back and give Cancelo the stability he has been chasing.
For now, he trains with Al-Hilal while waiting for the final call. The contract details, the tax clauses, the signatures — all of that still needs to fall into place.
But in Cancelo’s mind, the journey already has a destination.
