Barcelona Moves Closer to Cancelo Deal as Al-Hilal Eases Demands

João Cancelo’s future at Barcelona has taken a decisive twist, and this time it bends towards Camp Nou.

Al-Hilal, once firm on a €15 million fee, are now prepared to climb down from that valuation, according to reporting from Mundo Deportivo. Weeks of steady, insistent dialogue between the Saudi club and Barça — steered by super-agent Jorge Mendes — have started to move the needle. The door that looked bolted is now at least ajar.

Cancelo pushes for Barça stay

At 32, Cancelo has made it clear where he wants to be. He has become a key piece in Barça’s structure, a full-back who gives Hansi Flick width, control and experience on both flanks. Inside the club, there is no doubt: they want to keep him. Outside, the numbers had been the problem.

The shift is coming from Riyadh. Sources close to the talks suggest Al-Hilal are no longer hiding behind a fixed asking price. Their earlier rigidity has eased, creating space for Barcelona to negotiate something closer to their strained financial reality and still keep one of Flick’s most trusted lieutenants.

The catalyst? Cancelo himself.

He has no intention of returning to Al-Hilal and has not been shy about explaining why. Reflecting on his time there, he said: “At Al-Hilal, unfortunately, I had people who did not tell me the truth. They told me I was going to be registered for the Saudi league list, and then, when the time came, they did not do it. After that, I’m always the one left with the bad image… but at least I keep my word, and I would not trade it for anything. I have always been the same way. I am straightforward and I do not hold grudges against anyone."

Those words still hang in the air. They underline not just frustration, but a complete loss of trust in the club’s hierarchy.

No way back to Riyadh

On the sporting side, the bridge looks burned as well. Cancelo’s relationship with current Al-Hilal manager Simone Inzaghi is described as non-existent. There is no chemistry, no communication, no shared project. Whether Inzaghi stays or goes, the feeling from the player’s camp is the same: a return to Riyadh is off the table.

For Cancelo, there is only one path that makes sense now — staying in Spain, under Flick, in a league and a system that suit his game and his personality. Barcelona know it, Al-Hilal know it, and Mendes is trying to turn that leverage into a fee the Catalans can actually pay.

Mendes juggling Barça’s moving pieces

While Cancelo’s case sits at the top of the pile, it is far from the only file Mendes is working on at Camp Nou.

The agent is also involved in the future of Marc Casado. The midfielder does not figure in Flick’s long-term plans, and a move to Al-Hilal has emerged as a possibility. It would be a neat piece of symmetry: one Mendes client heading out as another stays, with the same two clubs at the negotiating table.

Up front, Mendes could also come into play. Darwin Núñez has been floated as a low-cost option to bolster Barça’s attack, a potential alternative if the club fail to land their main target, Julián Álvarez. Any move there hinges on what happens with Álvarez first, but the idea is on the desk.

This is how Mendes operates: several pressure points, all linked, all capable of nudging another deal into place.

Left flank puzzle: Cancelo, Balde… and Cucurella?

While the Cancelo saga unfolds, Barcelona’s recruitment team are looking at the other side of the defence as well.

Marc Cucurella, a former La Masia product now at Chelsea, is understood to be open to a return to Spain. Barça are monitoring the situation. On paper, it makes sense: a high-energy, specialist left-back who knows the club and the league.

On the pitch, the equation is trickier.

Cancelo is a natural right-back, but Flick has used him predominantly on the left throughout the 2025-26 season. Alejandro Balde is already in place and still developing. Add Cucurella to that mix and Barcelona risk loading one flank with options while leaving others thinner than they would like.

So the club face a familiar dilemma: how far do you chase depth before it becomes excess?

For now, the priority is clear. Secure Cancelo, lock down a player who has fought to stay, and then decide whether the next bold move should come at left-back, in midfield, or up front.