Manchester City full-back Joao Cancelo could find his escape route from the Etihad Stadium in the Saudi Pro League following a reported bid from Al Hilal.
Cancelo returned to Manchester after his loan at Barcelona finished at the at the end of last season. Barca president Joan Laporta had expressed in March a desire to secure a second loan, but the Catalans have had other transfer priorities this summer and there has been no attempt to do so.
Pep Guardiola stated only last week that the club had received no enquiries regarding Cancelo.
However, that appears to have changed. Fabrizio Romano reports that a “formal bid” has come from reigning Saudi Pro League champions Al Hilal, and talks with both Manchester City and Cancelo’s representatives over a potential deal are underway.
It would mean linking up with fellow Portuguese and coach at the time of his Benfica breakthrough, Jorge Jesus. Cancelo is said to be the manager’s “first choice”.
Following Euro 2024 and a summer break, Cancelo reported for pre-season with City and has been training with Guardiola’s squad ever since. But with the transfer window still open, the Portugal international hasn’t been involved in either of the club’s first two games.
Cancelo spent last season on loan with Barcelona / Alex Caparros/GettyImages
The City boss hasn’t ruled out reintegrating Cancelo, but it seems a transfer is the ideal outcome.
“He’s training with us,” Guardiola said during the same press conference in which he confirmed no offers. “We will see [what happens]. Maybe he will stay, maybe he will go on loan. I don’t know yet.
“It depends on his agents and the club. In the end, if he has to stay we will treat him like all the other players, with respect, and try to take the best from the huge qualities he has.”
After a rocky first season that was interrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic, Cancelo established himself as one of the Premier League’s best full-backs as City won successive titles in 2020/21 and 2021/22. But he very suddenly fell out of favour midway through the following Treble-winning campaign and wound up joining Bayern Munich on loan in January 2023.
Cancelo has a contract with City until 2027, having signed a new long-term deal less than a year before his rapid fall from grace, which had been prompted by dissatisfaction with his playing time amid growing competition from Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis.
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