Portuguese João Cancelo is close to staying with Barcelona permanently, after the Catalan club began working on converting his loan from Saudi Al-Hilal into a permanent transfer.
Cancelo had returned to Barcelona last January on loan until the end of the season, coming from Al-Hilal, after previously representing the Catalan team during the 2023-2024 season on loan from Manchester City.
Previous media reports indicated that Barcelona wants to sign Cancelo permanently, but on the condition that the deal be completed for free or for a reduced fee, given the player's desire to stay and coach Hans Flick's conviction of his importance.
According to the Spanish transfer-specialist site "Fichajes,"
current negotiations are heading toward an agreement under which Cancelo would move to Barcelona for a fee that satisfies Al-Hilal, which refused to release its player for free despite him being out of its plans.
The report noted that the agreement is now in its final stages, and it is expected that within a short period the official signing of a contract extending until 2028 will take place, along with the medical examination and registration of the player in Barcelona's squad before the start of the season.
It is worth noting that Cancelo (32 years old) appeared in 23 matches for Barcelona across various competitions last season, scoring one goal and providing four assists.
