Flick provides green light for loanee to continue at Barcelona beyond this season – Report | OneFootball

Joao Cancelo’s second spell at Barcelona is starting to look like more than a short-term fix. After a difficult beginning to his return, the Portuguese full-back has grown into Flick’s plans.

According to SPORT, Hansi Flick has given the go-ahead for Cancelo to stay at Barca after his loan. The report says the club are now aiming to negotiate his release from Al-Hilal and could offer the 31-year-old a two-year contract, though a major salary adjustment would be needed.

From a Barcelona point of view, this feels like a logical decision rather than a surprise. Cancelo came back needing rhythm after limited football, but once his fitness improved, his technical quality and versatility started to show again.

He has looked much sharper than many would have anticipated. The Portuguese international has come into his own in March following injuries to Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde, and he produced a monstrous defensive performance against Rayo yesterday.

The financial side remains the difficult part. Cancelo still has one year left on his Al-Hilal contract, so Barca cannot simply keep him without finding an agreement, and the club reportedly want to bring him in on terms that fit their existing wage structure.

Still, Flick’s backing matters. When a coach pushes for continuity, it usually means he sees the player as useful for the next phase, not just the current emergency. The German manager values what he sees in Cancelo, and it makes sense to keep such a versatile defender in the squad.

A lot of things need to happen for Cancelo to become a permanent Barcelona player for the first time in his career. We will have to wait and see how things play out on this front in the coming months.