Barcelona could take advantage of Al-Hilal’s interest in fringe player to sign Joao Cancelo – Report | OneFootball

Barcelona’s plans for Joao Cancelo may end up depending on Marc Casado. What first looked like two separate market stories are now starting to overlap, with Al-Hilal’s interest in the Barca midfielder potentially opening a path for Cancelo to stay.

According to Mundo Deportivo, Al-Hilal still want Casado after trying to sign him in the January window. At that stage, neither the player nor Hansi Flick wanted the move to happen, especially with Gavi still unavailable, but the report says the Saudi club’s interest has not gone away.

That is where Cancelo enters the picture. Al-Hilal own the Portuguese full-back’s rights until 2027, while his current Barcelona loan runs until June 30, 2026. The Catalan club will undoubtedly want to sign him.

The financial angle is the key part of the story. Barca do not want to pay a transfer fee for Cancelo, but Al-Hilal value him at around €15 million, while Barcelona hope to receive at least €20 million if they sell Casado. That creates an obvious possible connection between the two operations.

Casado, for his part, does not want to leave. The Spaniard bleeds Blaugrana and wants to stay at the club despite a constantly diminishing role under Hansi Flick, through the course of the season.

If Al-Hilal are serious about Casado, the money from that deal could effectively cover the cost of keeping Cancelo, which would make the whole operation far easier for Barca to justify.

Barcelona can afford to live without the Spaniard, especially if it means getting the Portuguese in return and let’s wait and see how the negotiations play out on this front.