João Cancelo is a Barcelona player again, permanently, and it has cost them nothing. The Portugal full-back has terminated his contract with Al-Hilal and returns to Camp Nou on a free transfer, signing a two-year deal and accepting a pay cut to do it.
Barcelona were never going to pay what Al-Hilal wanted. The Saudi club opened at around €10 million and then raised it to €15 million, which froze the negotiation entirely. Rather than meet it, Barcelona waited, and the exit came from the player instead. Cancelo wanted out, Al-Hilal are carrying more foreign players than they can register, and his relationship with Simone Inzaghi had broken down. The termination suited everyone except the club that had set the price.
The loan is what earned the return. Cancelo spent the second half of last season at Camp Nou on loan from Al-Hilal, making 23 appearances, scoring twice and adding four assists. Hansi Flick is reported to have been struck by his level from early in the spell, and that is what turned a stopgap into a permanent signing.
It fills a real gap too. Barcelona spent much of last season short at full back, with Jules Koundé and Alejandro Balde both missing long stretches and centre backs pushed into wide roles to cover. Cancelo can play either flank, which is precisely the flexibility that shortage exposed. At 32 he becomes Barcelona’s fourth signing of the summer, after Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi and Jesse Bisiwu, and comfortably the cheapest.
The player has not been subtle about it. Cancelo posted a photograph of himself from behind in a Barcelona shirt, captioned with a single hourglass emoji. What remains is the paperwork and the official announcements.