Barcelona miss out on signing of former defender as €25m deal agreed with Saudi Arabia | OneFootball

Earlier in the summer, it seemed somewhat inevitable that Barcelona would end up re-signing two players that they had on loan last season: Joao Felix and Joao Cancelo. However, it’s not almost certain that neither will return to Catalonia – not only this summer, but any time in the near future.

Felix re-joined Chelsea from Atletico Madrid on a permanent basis last week, while Cancelo will soon become the latest high-profile footballer to make the move to Saudi Arabia. Despite appearing to give priority to a return to Barcelona, the Portuguese defender has agreed personal terms with Al Hilal – as revealed by Fabrizio Romano.

Cancelo has already undergone the first part of his medical, having come to a verbal agreement on a salary worth €15m per season. Manchester City are to receive a €25m transfer fee as part of the deal.

Barcelona have been after a new right-back in recent weeks, and the need for one has increased in the last few days after injuries to Andreas Christensen and Eric Garcia (in this instance, Jules Kounde would move inside to his natural position of central defender). However, Cancelo – who was a leading target – won’t be joining Hansi Flick’s squad, for better or worse.