In a major development, Barcelona appear to have finally made a breakthrough in the pursuit of Joao Cancelo.
The Portuguese international had emerged as an early January target for the Blaugrana, as the player was keen on leaving Al Hilal and returning to his former club.
However, doubts soon emerged surrounding Barcelona’s ability to pull off the move, largely due to Cancelo’s hefty €15 million salary package.
Fabrizio Romano confirms Cancelo deal
But it appears Barcelona have finalised a deal with Al Hilal, with Fabrizio Romano giving his customary ‘here we go’ for the deal.
The Italian transfer expert had already confirmed the deal last night, revealing that the club have reached an agreement with Al Hilal over a short-term loan deal.
🚨💙❤️ BREAKING: João Cancelo to Barcelona, here we go! Deal in place on loan until June.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) January 5, 2026
Exclusive story confirmed as Barça will pay €4m as loan coverage to Al Hilal, as revealed today.
Despite Inter having deal in place with Al Hilal, João only wanted Barcelona. 🇵🇹 pic.twitter.com/Sy3CRMeIvT
As part of the deal, Cancelo is expected to join Barcelona on loan until the end of the season, with Barcelona paying only a small part of his salary.
Romano believes the Catalans will pay a loan amount of €4 million to Al Hilal, but how much salary they are willing to pay Cancelo remains to be seen.
It was reported earlier that Al Hilal had demanded that Robert Lewandowski be included in the deal to sign Cancelo. But that was something Barcelona did not even consider.
The Portuguese international is set to become Barcelona’s first signing of the January transfer window and will play a key role in giving more flexibility to coach Hansi Flick in the defensive unit.
Cancelo is capable of operating on both fullback roles, meaning he can be viewed as a backup for both Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde.
While he is not a like-for-like replacement for Andreas Christensen, the move could prove to be beneficial for Barcelona, as he gives the team more variety and depth in defence.
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