Barcelona waiting on Al-Hilal as several deals remain unresolved | OneFootball

FC Barcelona are set to have quite a busy 2026 summer transfer window, with the Sporting Department, headed by Deco, planning on several changes in the team. The Blaugranes are mainly looking for several new signings to cover some of the weak areas in their squad, while they would also have to address some departures.

In both these aspects, their fate in the upcoming summer transfer window is looking to be closely intertwined with the Saudi side Al-Hilal, as the two clubs are currently engaged in several operations.

The most prominent of these operations is the one involving the fullback Joao Cancelo, whose acquisition is one of the top priorities of Hansi Flick. On the other hand, the Saudis are interested in the Blaugrana star Raphinha and the midfielder Marc Casado.

However, as Mundo Deportivo has reported, work on all these operations is being slowed down because of the sporting situation of the Middle Eastern club, who are currently focusing on the selection and hiring of a new Sporting Director.

The individual selected for this role would be responsible for devising the strategy for the next season, and one of the first decisions he would have to make would be whether to continue with Simeone Inzaghi as the head-coach, or to appoint someone else.

The Italian tactician’s relationship with Cancelo was broken, and he wanted to offload him. If a new coach comes in, Al-Hilal would have to get his input on all these operations, involving Raphinha, who wants to continue at Barcelona, and Casado, who would prefer Al-Nassr, mainly because of the presence of Inigo Martinez, if were to move to Saudi Arabia.