Barcelona rule out move for 31-year-old star, prioritise centre-back signing in January | OneFootball

According to Carlos Monfort of SPORT, Barcelona have all but ruled out a move for Joao Cancelo in January, with the search for a centre-back now considered the priority.

Barcelona explored the option after learning, through Jorge Mendes, that the player has no intention of continuing at Al-Hilal and that his priority is to return to Europe.

Salary concerns, no consensus

However, the main obstacle remains the high salary the 31-year-old Portuguese full-back earns in Saudi Arabia, a figure that is well beyond the club’s current financial capacity.

Cancelo earns around €15 million net per season, a salary that Barcelona cannot afford. Even if his club were to cover a significant part of his wages, the deal would still be extremely complex, as the portion Barça would need to pay would remain very high.

At the meeting between Cancelo’s agent and Joan Laporta earlier this week, Cancelo’s situation was discussed informally.

Barcelona will not sign Cancelo, prioritising a centre-back. (Photo by Abdullah Ahmed/Getty Images)

The conclusion was that there is no total consensus within the club about the suitability of the move.

Centre-back a priority

Moreover, Barcelona are clear that the main priority in the transfer market is to strengthen the central defence.

The Blaugrana sporting management is working with a very defined profile in mind: a centre-back, preferably left-footed, with good ball-playing ability, strong in the air and considered a reliable option rather than a risky signing.

Hansi Flick was clear in his press conference when he stated that he wants a dependable defender, aware that such a player would be expected to play from the outset.

So, it will be interesting to see who Barcelona decide to go after in the coming weeks to strengthen their backline. As for Cancelo, a move back to another of his former club, Inter Milan, seems the likeliest outcome.