Barcelona are seeking an agreement with Al-Hilal to bring Joao Cancelo back for a third spell at the club.
Their interest in a deal for the defender became an open secret as early as June, before the World Cup, so why has the move stalled?
According to the latest reports, Barcelona are waiting for Al-Hilal to give the final approval for the Portugal international to leave Saudi Arabia.
Financial terms are believed to be the main obstacle. Barcelona had been discussing a deal of about €10m before Al-Hilal raised their asking price to €15m.
It complicated negotiations and Barcelona started seeking alternative solutions to bring the price down, including terminating Cancelo’s contract at the Saudi Pro League club.
However, Barcelona are said to be confident that an agreement will be concluded, and they are prepared to fly him to Barcelona early next week once Al-Hilal agree to his departure.
Putting everything into it 🔥 pic.twitter.com/AMfkYecqOU
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) August 13, 2026
Cancelo is also pushing for the move. Talks between the player, his representatives and Al-Hilal have continued as they seek to resolve his position.
Due to the transfer situation, the defender was left out of Al-Hilal’s squad for their opening league match. Their manager Simone Inzaghi has made clear that the player’s future needs to be resolved away from the rest of the team.
The Portugal international is not considered a part of Inzaghi’s plans.
Cancelo has already played for Barcelona twice. His latest was the loan spell during the second half of the 2025-26 season. He showed then what he could bring to the squad, and Flick welcomes his experience for another season.
Barcelona’s opening league match was delayed this weekend as part of La Liga’s arrangement for clubs who had players participating at the later stages of the World Cup.
The club will be kicking off the season against Elche on 23 August and a move for Cancelo is expected to have been completed by then.
