Official: Barcelona Signs Joao Cancelo

Barcelona announced today, Thursday, that they have reached an agreement with Portuguese player Joao Cancelo to join the team on a free transfer, with a contract extending until June 30, 2029, according to the club's official website.

João Cancelo donned the Barcelona jersey for the first time in the 2023/2024 season on loan from Manchester City, featuring in 42 matches under the guidance of Xavi Hernández, where he scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists.

After completing his first spell with Barcelona, the Portuguese full-back transferred to Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia, before returning to the Catalan club on loan again in January 2026, quickly earning the trust of Hans Flick.

During his second spell at Barcelona, João Cancelo participated in 23 matches, scoring two goals and providing four assists. He was primarily relied upon by Flick in the left-back position, eventually becoming an important player for the team.

João Cancelo began his career at Benfica, before moving to Valencia, then Inter Milan and Juventus, and later Manchester City in the summer of 2019. He also had loan spells at Bayern Munich and Barcelona during his time with the English club.

On the international stage, Cancelo has played 73 matches with the Portugal national team, being part of the squad that won the UEFA Nations League title in the 2018/2019 season. He also participated in the last two editions of the World Cup and the recent European Championship.