FC Barcelona has ruled out the possibility of signing Portuguese full-back João Cancelo, currently playing for Saudi club Al Hilal, during the ongoing winter transfer window due to financial and technical complications facing the Catalan club.

The biggest obstacle to completing the deal is Cancelo's high salary in Saudi Arabia, which far exceeds the financial ceiling currently available to Barcelona.

Barcelona's management does not consider Cancelo the most suitable option for the team, despite initially considering his name after learning of the player's desire to leave Al-Hilal and return to Europe through his agent Jorge Mendes.

Cancelo earns a net salary of around 15 million euros per season, an amount that Barcelona cannot afford, even with Al Hilal willing to cover a large part of the salary.

The newspaper "Sport" explained that the player's agent held an informal meeting with Joan Laporta, the president of Barcelona, to discuss the Cancelo case, but no consensus was reached within the club regarding the deal.

The newspaper confirmed that the lack of administrative and technical consensus contributed to complicating the situation, alongside ongoing financial pressures that limit Barcelona's movements in the market.

Barcelona emphasized that their priority in the winter transfer window is to strengthen the defense, specifically by signing a left-footed center-back who is skilled in building play and strong in aerial duels.