The Portugal international full-back joined Barca on loan in January for the remainder of the season. George Wood/Getty ImagesJuly 8, 2026 3:30 pm EDT Updated Joao Cancelo is set to join Barcelona in a permanent transfer from Al Hilal following a successful loan spell at the Catalan club.The Portugal international full-back will join Barca in a deal worth in the region of €10million and sign a two-year contract.Cancelo joined Barca on loan in January for the remainder of the season, scoring two goals in 23 appearances and helping the club win the league title.The 32-year-old, who was part of Portugal’s squad at this summer’s World Cup, had previously spent the 2023-24 campaign at the club on loan from Manchester City.The right-back started all five games for Portugal at this summer’s tournament, but was taken off at half-time in the group-stage matches against Uzbekistan and Colombia.He will become Barca’s second signing of the summer window following the €80m (£69.3m; $93.2m) signing of Antony Gordon from Newcastle United.Robert Lewandowski left Camp Nou at the end of his contract to join Chicago Fire, while on-loan Marcus Rashford has returned to parent club Manchester United, while youth-team products Inaki Pena and Ansu Fati both left on permanent deals.Cancelo signed for Al Hilal in August 2024 in a deal worth around €25m (£21m; $27.9m) after five years at City, where he won three Premier League titles.He spent the second half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan at German club Bayern Munich, winning the Bundesliga that season before joining Barcelona in August 2023.Jul 8, 2026Connections: Sports EditionSpot the pattern. Connect the termsFind the hidden link between sports terms