Sam Marsden
Moises Llorens
Jan 12, 2026, 11:05 PM
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Barcelona have completed the signing of Al-Hilal defender João Cancelo on loan until the end of the season, the LaLiga leaders have confirmed.
Cancelo, 31, completed his medical with the club on Monday and will be presented on Tuesday. He returns to Barça for a second spell after previously spending the 2023-24 season with the Catalan club.
Barça have moved to add a defender to their squad for the second half of the season after coach Hansi Flick requested reinforcements following Andreas Christensen's ACL injury.
With Christensen set to be sidelined for more than four months, LaLiga regulations allow Barça to use a percentage of his salary to register a replacement, which has facilitated the arrival of Cancelo.
Flick had initially wanted to sign a centre-back, but after acknowledging the difficulty of adding guaranteed quality in January, has accepted the arrival of Cancelo.
João Cancelo is back at Barcelona for a second time. (Photo By Ricardo Larreina/Europa Press via Getty Images)
The Portugal international can play as either a right or left-sided full-back, which gives Barça more options across the backline.
Jules Koundé, who has primarily played as a right-back since joining Barça, could return to centre-back, which is his favoured position, while Gerard Martín can continue in the middle of the defence, too, with Cancelo able to rotate with left-back Alejandro Balde.
Barça have been left short at the back since losing Iñigo Martínez to Al-Nassr last summer.
They have also been without Ronald Araújo since November, when the Uruguayan requested a mental health break, and Christensen's partial ACL tear in December left them struggling to make up the numbers.
As a result, Flick has been using teenager Pau Cubarsí and converted left-back Martín as his centre-back pairing in recent weeks, with Eric García, another option there, needed in midfield.
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Cancelo made 42 appearances at Barça during the 2023-24 campaign under Xavi Hernández when on loan at the club from Manchester City.
He subsequently moved to Saudi Arabian side Al-Hilal the following summer, but now returns to Europe where he has previously played for Benfica, Valencia, Inter and Juventus as well.
With the World Cup coming up this summer, he needs to be playing regularly at the top level to guarantee his spot in Roberto Martínez's Portugal squad