Barcelona officially presented João Cancelo on Thursday after the Portuguese defender signed a permanent contract running until June 2029, completing his return to the club following the mutual termination of his Al Hilal deal.
Cancelo, 32, joined club president Joan Laporta, vice-president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco for the signing ceremony at Barcelona's facilities. The move came at the explicit request of head coach Hansi Flick, under whom Cancelo made 23 appearances on loan last season. Cancelo told Deco he would either return to Barcelona or sit out a year without playing rather than remain in Saudi Arabia. "It's my dream. I'm where I want to be," Cancelo said, adding that the team would "give everything to try to win the Champions League".
Cancelo is Barcelona's fifth summer signing, joining Rodri, Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi and Jesse Bisiwu. The club began registering all new arrivals Thursday ahead of Sunday's league opener against Elche.