Joao Cancelo confirms Barcelona return – “I’m where I want to be” | OneFootball

Barcelona have not yet confirmed that Joao Cancelo is re-signing, but it is all-but finalised for the defender to return to the Spotify Camp Nou this summer. For the entire transfer window, the Catalans have been working on a deal for the Portugal international, and in the last 24 hours, they finally got their wish after an agreement was reached for him to head back.

Cancelo has finalised a mutual contract termination with Al Hilal, which has opened the door for him to re-join Barcelona. He already had personal terms in place, and after weeks of waiting, he received the green light to fly back to Catalonia to sign on for his third spell – but his first on a permanent deal.

Upon landing at El Pais airport, Cancelo spoke to the media (via MD), and he could not contain his delight at returning to Barcelona. He also revealed that he had planned to sit out the entirety of the 2026-27 season had he not been able to re-join Hansi Flick’s squad this summer.

“I’m very happy, I’m very happy to be here, I’m where I want to be. I was training separately for a week, I told Deco that either he came here or he was going to be there for a year without playing collecting my salary. I have given up part of my salary but it was to sign for Barça, or nothing. It’s a very special club, I’m here to help and I hope to win many titles. We are making a great team.”

Cancelo deal is fantastic business from Barcelona

The reason that it took so long for Barcelona to re-sign Cancelo is because they did not want to pay a transfer fee. Al Hilal relented for weeks, but they gave in over the weekend, which is why the Portuguese full-back is joining now.

Cancelo’s signing should be made official in the next 24-48 hours, but he will not be the only one. Former Manchester City teammate Rodri is also jetting in after Barcelona struck an agreement with the Premier League giants, and he will also sign on the dotted line very soon.