The medical committee of the Spanish League announced that Andreas Christensen's injury is long-term, which will keep him off the field for five months. This allows Barcelona to use 80% of his salary within the financial fair play limit to sign a replacement, the Portuguese full-back João Cancelo, coming from Al Hilal, according to the Spanish newspaper "Mundo Deportivo."

Christensen suffered a partial tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during a team training session in late 2025, prompting Barcelona's management to quickly seek a replacement to strengthen the team's defense during his extended absence.

Sports director Deco confirmed in statements from Jeddah during the Spanish Super Cup competition that the deal with Cancelo is happening because he is a player who elevates the team's level, and that what matters in the winter transfer window is improvement—maintaining the same level or declining is not logical.

Deco added: "It's not just about the defenders; we are getting Ronald Araújo back, and the coach confirmed that we have an extra defender. Cancelo allows Eric Garcia not to play as a full-back, and in some cases, it also allows Koundé to play centrally, giving us more options than we had before."