Barcelona make decision to push back Joao Cancelo signing | OneFootball

Barcelona are closing in on the signing of Joao Cancelo, who will return to the club 18 months after his previous spell. A loan deal has been agreed with Saudi Pro League side Al Hilal, and barring any last minute issues, he will be in Hansi Flick’s squad for the second half of the 2025-26 season.

Cancelo signalled his intention to re-join Barcelona upon it becoming known that he would be leaving Al Hilal. He was pursued by another former club in Inter, but in the case, the La Liga leaders made their decisive move, which was led by president Joan Laporta.

It was earlier in the week that a deal was totally agreed between Barcelona and Al Hilal, but as of yet, Cancelo has not undergone medical tests, nor even arrived in Catalonia. As per MD, this is intentional, as neither club nor player want to take any attention away from Sunday’s Spanish Supercup final against Real Madrid.

Image via Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images

Deal completed on Monday, presentation 24 hours later

Barcelona’s stance on the matter is clear: they want the Supercup final to take centre stage, and after that, the signing of Cancelo will be finalised. The plan is for everything to be completed on Monday, with him to be presented as the club’s latest signing alongside Laporta, who will travel back from Saudi Arabia after the Real Madrid clash, the following day.

As long as he is registered in time with La Liga, Cancelo could be in line to make his second Barcelona debut when Barcelona take on Real Racing Club de Santander in the Copa del Rey on Thursday. He could make his league debut in next weekend’s trip to Real Sociedad, while his Spotify Camp Nou homecoming is likely to be the following week when Real Oviedo head to Catalonia.