Barcelona continue their pursuit of the Portuguese defender, but in Saudi Arabia they are constantly putting new obstacles in the works for the transfer.
32-year-old João Cancelo is once again moving further away from a move to FC Barcelona – after Al-Hilal have turned the price up to €15 million to let him go. The parties had previously worked towards an amount of around 10 million, but the Saudis have tightened their grip towards the end of the transfer window.
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The decision forces Barça to renegotiate a transfer that for weeks seemed to be in place. Deco is working hard to bring down Al-Hilal’s demands, and has no plans to just accept the 15 million that is now required for a player with a contract until 2027.
João Cancelo’s transfer fee increases from €10 million to €15 million
The economic landscape has changed in a matter of days. FC Barcelona and Al-Hilal had come a long way in negotiations for a transfer fee of between 8 and 10 million euros – an amount the parties even had a verbal agreement on.
Now the claim is NOK 15 million – i.e. around NOK 5 million more than originally planned. Barça believe the increase means that they have to reconsider a transfer that was almost in place already at the beginning of August.
Cancelo recently played on loan for the Blaugrana in the latter half of the 2025/26 season. He made 23 official appearances, scoring two goals and providing three assists, before returning to Al-Hilal at the end of his loan spell.
Hansi Flick has asked to keep the Portuguese in the squad – precisely because of his ability to cover both backsides. The coach was already betting on him during the decisive final sprint in LaLiga, which Barça eventually won.
Al-Hilal also have reasons to let Cancelo go
Cancelo’s sporting situation in Saudi Arabia is also no guarantee that he will stay. The full-back was left out of the squad for the first league game against Al-Faisaly, although Simone Inzaghi explained the absence by the player arriving late to pre-season.
The Italian would not confirm that Cancelo will stay, leaving the decision on the player’s future to the sporting director. Cancelo is still training with the team while he waits for clarification before the transfer window closes.
There is also a challenge with the player quota. Al-Hilal has 13 foreign players, but the Saudi league only allows ten foreigners to register – a situation that forces the club to reduce the number of foreign stars.
João Cancelo wants to return to Camp Nou
Cancelo has also publicly made it clear that he wants to return to Spain. The Portuguese prioritised Barça when he arrived on loan in January 2026, and he remains committed to continuing his career in LaLiga.
The transition has also faced bureaucratic and fiscal challenges that have prevented the agreement from being finalized several weeks ago. These delays have given Al-Hilal the opportunity to renegotiate the financial terms of the transfer.
The next move now lies with Deco, who will try to get the numbers closer together again – before deciding whether Barça are willing to increase their investment. FC Barcelona still have João Cancelo on their wish list to strengthen their full-back positions, but the signing depends on Al-Hilal lowering their €15 million demand.
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