Official: Barcelona confirm Joao Cancelo as fifth summer signing | OneFootball

Barcelona have finalised their second signing of the week, with Joao Cancelo’s return for a third spell now confirmed. The club have been working for the entire summer to bring the Portuguese defender back to the Spotify Camp Nou, and they have now done so.

Over the weekend, it was reported that Cancelo finally managed to reach an agreement with Al Hilal to terminate his contract. Barcelona were always unwilling to pay a transfer fee for the 32-year-old, and once he became a free agent, they moved very quickly to close an agreement to re-sign him for a third time – but a first on a permanent basis.

Barcelona had hoped to announce Cancelo’s signing prior to Wednesday’s Joan Gamper Trophy victory over Al Ahly, but the necessary paperwork was not done in time. However, he has now been unveiled less than 24 hours later, with an official statement confirming that “Cancelo and FC Barcelona have reached an agreement for the Portuguese footballer to join the Club. The full-back arrives as a permanent transfer basis and signs as a Barça player until 30 June 2029”.

Cancelo is finally rewarded for his commitment to Barcelona

After his successful loan spell during the second half of last season, both Cancelo and Barcelona were clear that they wanted to continue together on a permanent basis. However, Al Hilal blocked a move for much of the summer, making it clear that the Catalans had to pay a high price to get their man – which they were not prepared to do.

Cancelo made it very clear to Al Hilal that he would only leave to join Barcelona, and that ultimately led to a mutual contract termination being agreed in the last seven days. That paved the way for his return to Catalonia, where he will now stay for at least the next three seasons.