Barcelona officially announced on Tuesday the loan signing of Portuguese full-back João Cancelo from Al-Hilal for half a season. The 31-year-old Cancelo will wear the number 2 jersey for Barça, with the loan fee estimated at around €4 million.

This loan also marks the official start of Cancelo's second stint with the Blaugrana. From September 2023 to June 2024, he made 42 appearances for Barcelona on loan, scoring 4 goals and providing 5 assists.

After leaving Barcelona, Cancelo chose to join Al-Hilal. To date, he has made 45 appearances for Al-Hilal, contributing 3 goals and 14 assists.

Besides Barcelona and Al-Hilal, Cancelo also played for Benfica, Valencia, Inter Milan, Juventus, Manchester City, and Bayern Munich. During this time, he made 330 appearances across all competitions, scoring 16 goals and providing 49 assists, winning one Portuguese league title, one Portuguese cup title, one Portuguese league cup title, one Portuguese super cup title, one Serie A title, one Italian super cup title, one UEFA Champions League title, three Premier League titles, one FA Cup title, two English League Cup titles, and one Bundesliga title.

After completing the signing, Cancelo said: "When the opportunity came, I did not hesitate to return. I told everyone that I would always wait for Barça. It is an honor to represent Barcelona, the best club in the world. It is the only club in the world that gave me goosebumps when I signed the contract."

“Those who know me know that all my idols have played for this club. My feelings for Barcelona are extraordinary. During my time with Barça, I failed to win any trophies. Now, I am eager to achieve that goal.”

“Playing for Barça will be a unique experience because I have waited so long. I might cry because this has always been my dream.”

“I identify very much with the club’s culture. Although I only played for Barça for one season, I felt like I was coming home when I returned to the locker room today.”