Joao Cancelo is returning to a former club… but not to Inter, but to Barcelona

It seems it’s all but done. At least that’s what almost all relevant media outlets are reporting. Joao Cancelo will play for Barcelona again. And it will happen shortly after the upcoming Super Cup, since the deal cannot be finalized quite quickly enough for the brilliant full-back to be available to Hansi Flick already for Wednesday night’s match against Athletic Bilbao and a possible final a few days later.

Ever since it became clear that he would leave Al Hilal in order to get the playing time needed to impress Portugal head coach Roberto Martinez ahead of the upcoming World Cup, the only question was which of his two former clubs he would return to — Inter or Barcelona.

Although the Nerazzurri reportedly also had a verbal agreement with Al Hilal, the player wanted only Camp Nou, where, on loan from Manchester City in the 2023/24 season, he made 42 appearances, scoring four goals and providing five assists. Barcelona and the Saudi club have also reached an agreement that now only needs to be formalized in writing. It’s worth recalling that even during his first spell, the Portuguese never hid that it had been his boyhood dream to wear the shirt of the Catalan giants. Reportedly, he even gave up 2 milion euros per year in salary back then in order to play for Barcelona.

The Catalans will pay 4 milion euros in compensation to Al Hilal for a loan until the end of the season, while Cancelo will cover part of his own wages, limited to a maximum of 5 milion euros, so that Barcelona can comply with La Liga rules allowing them to use 80 percent of the salary space of an injured player. The player in question is Andreas Christensen, who will be sidelined for at least the next four months and whose place will be taken precisely by Cancelo.

Practically, the only remaining dilemma is whether he will join his new teammates in Jeddah, where the Super Cup is being played — about a 40-minute flight from Riyadh, where he is currently located — or whether he will do so in Barcelona after the team returns from the fight for the first trophy of the calendar year.

Joao Cancelo is returning to Europe – his next stop is his former club

Benfica, Valencia, Inter, Juventus, Manchester City, Bayern, Barcelona, Al Hilal… From the perspective of the clubs he has played for, Cancelo has had a fantastic career. However, there is a certain “glitch” that has prevented him from staying at any one club long enough to reach a three-digit number of appearances. The exception is Manchester City, but even there he was repeatedly sent out on loan, until he was finally sold to Al Hilal in the summer of 2024 for 25 milion euros. And now he is leaving there as well, a year and a half before his contract expires…