Barcelona Moves Closer to Permanent Deal for Cancelo as Al-Hilal Softens

João Cancelo’s Barcelona story, once thought to be a short-term fling, is edging closer to a permanent chapter. The mood in the Camp Nou offices has lifted in recent days, with negotiations over a deal taking a more favourable turn as Al-Hilal soften their stance.

The Saudi club had been firm on a €15 million asking price. That figure now looks less rigid. According to reporting in Spain, Al-Hilal are prepared to climb down, a shift born out of persistent, patient talks steered by Jorge Mendes. The super-agent has been the bridge between Riyadh and Barcelona, and the cracks in the Saudi position are starting to show.

Cancelo, 32, has made no secret of what he wants. He wants Barcelona. He wants Camp Nou. He wants Hansi Flick.

On the pitch, he has become essential to the Blaugrana’s structure, a full-back in name only, a playmaker in wide areas who has knitted himself into the team’s rhythm. Off it, he has been just as clear, pushing for a solution that keeps him in Catalonia and away from a return he considers a non-starter.

The real engine behind this saga is simple: Cancelo refuses to go back to Al-Hilal. Contract or not.

His frustration with the Saudi club runs deep. Speaking about his spell there, he did not hide his sense of betrayal: they had told him he would be registered for the Saudi league list, only to leave him out when it mattered. He was left, in his own words, with the “bad image” while insisting he kept his word and his principles. Straightforward, no grudges, but no illusions either.

That experience has burned the bridge.

His relationship with Simone Inzaghi, Al-Hilal’s current coach, barely exists. There is no chemistry, no trust, no shared project to fall back on. Those around the deal describe a “total lack of feeling” between player and manager. With that backdrop, a return to Riyadh is not just unlikely; it is practically off the table, regardless of whether Inzaghi stays or goes.

For Cancelo, the path is clear: stay in Spain, stay at Barcelona, and work under Flick.

Inside the club, the deal is treated as a priority. The coaching staff see him as a key piece, and the board know that losing him would mean replacing not just a defender, but a system-shaping presence. With Al-Hilal finally showing some flexibility on price, Barcelona sense an opportunity they cannot afford to waste.

Mendes, though, is not handling only one file in Barcelona. Far from it.

While he pushes Cancelo’s case, he is also navigating the future of Marc Casado. The young midfielder does not figure prominently in Flick’s long-term plans, and a move is on the table. One intriguing possibility: Casado heading in the opposite direction to Cancelo, towards Al-Hilal, as the Saudis look for value and Barcelona look for room in the squad and on the wage bill.

Up front, Mendes is circling another angle. Darwin Núñez has emerged as a potential option for Barcelona’s forward line, presented as a comparatively low-cost solution if other doors close. The club’s dream target remains Julián Álvarez, but that pursuit depends on finances, availability, and the usual transfer-market dominoes. If Álvarez proves unreachable, Núñez could be pushed as a more realistic alternative.

While those attacking scenarios simmer in the background, Barcelona’s recruitment team are also scanning the defensive market beyond Cancelo. One name has reappeared on their radar: Marc Cucurella.

A La Masia product who left to make his way in England, Cucurella is understood to be open to returning to Spain. Chelsea, for their part, are not closing the door. Barcelona are watching closely, weighing whether a reunion makes sense in the current squad landscape.

On paper, it sounds logical: add another energetic, aggressive left-back who knows the club and the league. On the grass, the picture is more complicated.

Cancelo, a natural right-back, has spent most of the 2025–26 season operating on the left, tucking inside, stepping into midfield, and giving Flick a hybrid option that has reshaped the build-up. Alejandro Balde is already in place as a specialist on that flank, a long-term asset and a symbol of the club’s youth-first vision.

Bringing Cucurella into that mix would leave Barcelona heavily loaded on the left. Three players, two roles, one ball. At some point, someone sits.

That is the tension at the heart of their planning: how to keep Cancelo, protect Balde’s development, and decide whether a returning Cucurella is a luxury or a necessity.

For now, the immediate battle is clear. Secure Cancelo. Close the deal with Al-Hilal at a price that fits within Barcelona’s tight financial margins. Lock in a player who has nailed his colours to the Blaugrana mast and has no intention of turning back towards Riyadh.

If Mendes can pull that off while juggling Casado’s future and keeping the Núñez–Álvarez equation alive, Barcelona’s summer will look very different. The question is not whether they want Cancelo. It is whether they can turn his determination into a permanent signature before someone, somewhere, changes their mind.