Barcelona suffer Saudi Pro League blow as transfer hijacked
FT Desk
- Updated: 5 Aug 2023 20:04 BST
- 3 min read
Barcelona's hopes of bringing Joao Cancelo to Camp Nou have taken a hit as another blockbuster transfer to Saudi Arabia now looms.
Cancelo is not part of Pep Guardiola's plans at Manchester City and was farmed out on loan to Bayern Munich last season, meaning that the Portugal international missed the club's raucous treble celebrations.
He is now back in Manchester and recent comments from Pep on that loan move suggest that he will not have much of a role to play in the coming season either.
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"We decided that Joao had to leave and we didn't care where, as if he wanted to go to Manchester United, who are the city rivals," he told reporters in June.
Recent reports claimed that Cancelo was closing in on a Barcelona move and that the player had even agreed personal terms with the Blaugrana, who are looking to sell Ousmane Dembele to Paris Saint-Germain in order to fund more transfer activity this summer.
Arabia-bound?
But a potential roadblock to that move has now appeared in the shape of Saudi Arabia, whose clubs have been aggressive in snapping up elite talent throughout the window.
According to AS, Cancelo has requested permission to discuss terms with an unnamed team from the nation, and it is to be expected that any offer from the Saudi Pro League would dwarf Barcelona's.
Should Barca miss out on their man, Valladolid's Ivan Fresneda is one possible option at full-back for the reigning La Liga champions.
The club have already swooped for Ilkay Gundogan from Pep's City, while also adding defender Inigo Martinez and midfielder Oriol Romeu to their title-winning squad this window.
