Barcelona completed the loan signing of João Cancelo from Al-Hilal just hours before the Catalan club’s campaign in the 2026 Spanish Super Cup, which, as usual, is being held in Saudi Arabia.
The Portuguese player’s return to Camp Nou will be officially announced on Tuesday, while Barça face Athletic Bilbao in the semi-final in Jeddah on Wednesday. This has raised questions about whether Cancelo will be able to join the Blaugrana squad and participate in the match or the final.
According to Foot Mercato, Cancelo will not be available for Barcelona in either the semi-final or the final because he was not registered in time for the match.
If all goes according to plan, the 31-year-old should be available starting with the La Liga match against Real Sociedad on January 18.
Barcelona will pay only €5 million of Cancelo’s €10 million salary, with Al-Hilal covering the remainder. The loan agreement does not include an option to buy next summer.
Cancelo will be an ideal addition to Barcelona, as he can be deployed at both right and left back. This also allows Barcelona to compensate for the injured Andreas Christensen by bringing Jules Koundé back into central defense when needed.
