JOAO CANCELO WILL NOT RETURN TO BARÇA
FC Barcelona loses one of its biggest targets in the transfer market
Published:26/08/2024 - 18:43h
Updated:26/08/2024 - 18:48h
Manchester City are still negotiating the departure of Joao Cancelo from England and everything seems to indicate that his next destination will not be Barcelona, but a club located on the other side of the world, specifically, in Saudi Arabia
Joao Cancelo wants to resolve his future as soon as possible. Despite his constant attempts and motivation to return to FC Barcelona this season, everything indicates that he will not be able to do so. Manchester City have him for sale and have ruled out the option of a new loan for weeks, so the Barça board will have to look for another option to strengthen their defense.
In recent days we have been reporting that there is a Saudi Arabian team interested in signing the Portuguese this season. We are talking about Al-Hilal, who have already reached an agreement with City for the transfer of Cancelo. The transfer of the Portuguese would be for around 25 million euros and the player would receive around 15 million euros net per season. Now it will be up to him to choose whether he will go to the Saudi Pro League or wait for other offers that may reach the English team before August 30.
Cancelo must make a decision
At this time, the Portuguese must make a decision about his future. The salary he will receive in Saudi Arabia is unlikely to be offered to him by other clubs, so it is an offer he cannot dismiss. What seems clear is that he will not stay with Pep Guardiola's team. The Spanish coach does not have him in his plans and has put him between a rock and a hard place, because there are no guarantees that another team will be interested before the market closes.
His objective is still to wear the Blaugrana shirt again and Barça would not rule it out if the right conditions are met, which do not involve a sale. However, this represents a risk for both parties, especially for the defender because he would run the risk of staying on the bench in Manchester for at least six months.
In addition, if he wants to return to Barcelona he will have to lower his salary for this to be considered a possibility. Right now, the Catalan club is not considering taking risks with any signing, so Cancelo would not be a priority. In fact, they would bet on another 'low cost' option to cover the right side or use Jules Koundé as an alternative, so the Portuguese should take the Saudi offer seriously and accept the 15 million euros, because the Barcelona train seems to have left the station without him.
