{"id":90732,"date":"2026-01-05T22:03:00","date_gmt":"2026-01-05T21:03:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/weisetech.dev\/fc-barcelona-noticias\/en\/barcelona-and-al-hilal-finalize-details-of-joao-cancelo-loan_315682_102\/"},"modified":"2026-03-27T11:34:30","modified_gmt":"2026-03-27T10:34:30","slug":"barcelona-and-al-hilal-finalize-details-of-joao-cancelo-loan_315682_102","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.fcbarcelonanoticias.com\/en\/transfers\/barcelona-and-al-hilal-finalize-details-of-joao-cancelo-loan_315682_102.html","title":{"rendered":"Assignment on the decline: agreement in principle between Barcelona and Al Hilal for Joao Cancelo"},"content":{"rendered":"
Joao Cancelo<\/strong> is very close to returning to FC Barcelona<\/strong>. On Monday afternoon, the Bar\u00e7a board sent a formal offer to the Saudi Al Hilal board for the loan<\/strong> of the Portuguese full-back, who would arrive without a purchase option<\/strong> to play the second half of the season under the orders of Hansi Flick<\/strong>.<\/p> The 31-year-old defender landed in Arabia in the summer of 2024, coming from Manchester City, after playing on loan at Bar\u00e7a in 23\/24. After the arrival of Simone Inzaghi<\/strong> to the Al Hilal bench in the 2025 Club World Cup<\/strong>, Joao suffered a muscle injury and was subsequently removed from the squad during the first half of the 25\/26 Saudi league.<\/p> The Italian coach made it clear that he did not count on Cancelo and, as his contract ends in 2027, the club decided to negotiate his loan departure in the winter market. Although Inter Milan<\/strong> was the first to show interest in signing him, the Portuguese player made his desire to wait for an offer from Bar\u00e7a clear, which was finally formalized that Monday.<\/p> In principle, the coaching staff led by Hansi Flick did not seem sure about signing the player from Barreiro<\/a>. However, the absence of Andreas Christensen<\/a> and the good work of Gerard Mart\u00edn<\/strong> in the center of defense reduce the number of available alternatives to rotate Jules Kound\u00e9<\/strong> and Alejandro Balde<\/strong> on the wings.<\/p> The Frenchman has already accumulated 1,869 minutes of action <\/strong>in 25 of the 26 matches played by Bar\u00e7a in all competitions. Eric Garc\u00eda<\/strong>, in theory, is his backup, but the player from Martorell has established himself as a defensive midfielder. In Balde’s case, he has also been left without a direct replacement with Mart\u00edn settled in the center.<\/p> \u00c1lex also adds 1,510 minutes of play in 21 appearances this season and only had one ‘forced’ break of five games in September due to a muscle injury. Joao Cancelo would allow both to rest more, thanks to his versatility to play as a right or left-back.<\/p> Furthermore, he is a footballer who knows the club well and has enormous affection for Bar\u00e7a. Joao left in the summer of 2024 due to the financial problems of **a Blaugrana team unable to pay the 25 million euros** that Manchester City demanded to let him go.During his only season in the blaugrana shirt, the former Valencia, Benfica, Bayern, Inter, Juventus, and Manchester City full-back played **42 games under Xavi Hern\u00e1ndez**, contributing 4 goals and 5 assists.<\/p> Understanding that **Ronald Araujo** will be another ‘reinforcement’ for the center of the defense in the second half of 25\/26, Bar\u00e7a prefers to take advantage of **the almost 5.5 million euros** that Christensen’s long-term absence will free up (80% of his salary for four or more months out) to recover Joao Cancelo.<\/p> Information leaked by ‘Jijantes’ assures that Bar\u00e7a will pay around 5 million euros for the loan of Joao Cancelo<\/strong>, who accepted a salary reduction (15 million net per year) to facilitate his return to Catalonia. Al Hilal, for its part, would also be satisfied with the Blaugrana offer.<\/p> The full-back would finally earn about 3 million<\/strong> for his second stint at Barcelona, a little over 50% of what his salary would have been had he moved to another club (\u20ac7.5 million). Al Hilal, initially, hoped to offload 60% of his contract and had a preliminary agreement in place with Inter Milan<\/strong>.<\/p> Bar\u00e7a’s reasons for betting on Joao Cancelo’s return<\/h2>
How much will Cancelo’s loan cost Barcelona?<\/h2>
