Portuguese defender João Cancelo arrived in Barcelona on Monday as a free agent after reaching an agreement to terminate his contract with Saudi club Al Hilal over the weekend. The 32-year-old is expected to sign a three-year contract through June 2029, marking his third spell at the Catalan club. Barcelona will pay no transfer fee, despite Al Hilal initially valuing the player at 10 million euros, and Cancelo reportedly renounced part of his salary to facilitate the move.
Cancelo previously spent the second half of the 2025-26 season on loan at Barcelona under coach Hansi Flick, playing 23 matches and contributing two goals and four assists as the club won La Liga. He had also played on loan at Barcelona during the 2023-24 campaign under Xavi Hernández.
In a separate development, former midfielder Sergio Busquets has returned to Barcelona as an assistant coach for the B-team under Juliano Belletti, eight months after retiring from playing. The 38-year-old made 722 appearances for Barcelona's first team over 15 seasons.