Joao Cancelo Joins Barcelona, Shirt Number Revealed

Barcelona officially unveiled João Cancelo for the second time on Tuesday afternoon, confirming that he will take up the No. 2 shirt once again..

The Catalan giants secured a short-term loan to bring the Al Hilal fullback back to Spain for the remainder of the season, 18 months after turning down the chance to permanently sign him.

Cancelo joined Barcelona for the first time ahead of the 2023–24 campaign after falling out with Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola. The versatile defender was one of Xavi Hernández’s most regular players and managed to rack up a healthy tally of four goals and five assists across all competitions—the exact same haul as influential midfielder Pedri.

At the end of that season Barcelona neglected the option to make Cancelo’s stay permanent, sending him back to Manchester City who swiftly secured a €25 million ($29.2 million) sale to Al Hilal. After a prominent role during his debut campaign in Saudi Arabia, Cancelo firmly fell out of favor with incoming manager Simone Inzaghi. The former Inter coach appears to have won the battle of wills.

The Serie A leaders were thought to be interested in bringing Cancelo back to San Siro, while Juventus (another of the luxury journeyman’s former clubs) were also floated. Yet, Cancelo’s desire to return to Catalonia appears to have been the driving force behind this deal.

Information via Transfermarkt .

Flick has been measured in his comments on Cancelo’s arrival. “João can play on both flanks,” the German coach noted. “It’s for six months, it’s a good option, and he has a lot of quality.”

Barcelona are short of center backs rather than fullbacks, which is why Flick was ideally targeting Manchester City’s Nathan Aké, per The Athletic.

However, that arrangement seemed ambitious until it was ruled out entirely by the serious injuries suffered by Rúben Dias and Joško Gvardiol. City were suddenly in the market for a new central defender—chiefly Marc Guéhi—and not prepared to lose anyone in that position.

As is the case with any major Barcelona signing, some financial jiggery-pokery had to be undertaken to secure the deal. The funds for Cancelo’s arrival became available after Andreas Christensen suffered a partial tear of his ACL in December.

La Liga regulations permit clubs to reallocate 80% of a player’s wages to a new signing if that injured individal is sidelined for four or more months. The luck-less Christensen fit this bill and so Cancelo was given the chance of a comeback.