Barcelona Director of Football Deco has confirmed that Joao Cancelo will be arriving at the club imminently. After reports the Portuguese defender had agreed a loan move from Al-Hilal on Monday, manager Hansi Flick had noted that it was not yet sealed, but Deco and President Joan Laporta have suggested that it will now go through.
Originally it was stated that Barcelona were on the hunt for a central defender to provide another option beside Pau Cubarsi, with Andreas Christensen out until at least April, and Ronald Araujo’s fitness an unknown. The deal for Cancelo took some by surprise, as last week it was widely reported they would not move for him. It has been suggested President Joan Laporta could be behind the shift.
🚨 FC Barcelona will not make the signing of João Cancelo official until after the Spanish Super Cup final. The full focus is on beating Real Madrid to lift the trophy for the second consecutive season. [@MCTorresA]
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) January 9, 2026
Speaking to the media ahead of the Spanish Supercup semi-final, Deco explained the rationale behind the deal.
“We signed Cancelo because he’s a player who improves the team’s quality. Ultimately, what matters in the winter transfer window is improvement: staying the same or getting worse makes no sense. It’s not about centre-backs; we’re getting Ronald back, and the manager has already said that with him, we have another centre-back. Cancelo also allows Eric to avoid playing at full-back, a position he’s often filled. Furthermore, it allows Kounde to play centrally in an emergency, giving us more options than before.”
🎙️ Las declaraciones de Deco antes de la final de la Supercopa.
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) January 9, 2026
He did also note that the deal was made far easier by a serious of circumstances surrounding Cancelo.
“He’s a quality, top-level player, and it was a transfer that would have been difficult to pull off, but there were happy coincidences: he wasn’t registered, he had an agreement to leave, and he’s always been crazy about Barca. When he comes, he takes a pay cut because of the allure of this club and because he fits in with what we can do. And as I said, in January we wanted to improve our quality.”
The previous night, Laporta had also spoken about the deal, attributing its success to Deco.
“[It’s] another success for Deco. Signing players in the winter transfer window isn’t easy. Both the player and his agent, Jorge Mendes, did their part by taking a considerable pay cut. Hansi has given his blessing for the deal,” he told MD.
