Official: João Cancelo completes Saudi move to Al Hilal
Portugal international João Cancelo has become the latest Seleção star to join the Saudi Pro League, signing for reigning champions Al Hilal from Manchester City.
Al Hilal have reportedly paid €25m to add Cancelo to Jorge Jesus’ squad, where he will team up with international colleague Rúben Neves at Kingdom Arena.
Cancelo had been linked with a permanent move to Barcelona, where he spent last season on loan. However, it appears the Spanish side were unwilling to match the terms offered by Al Hilal, while City manager Pep Guardiola is believed to have shown little interest in reintegrating Cancelo back at the English champions.
"I would like to wish everyone at Manchester City every continued success in the future,” Cancelo said in a departing message. “I have had many very special moments during my time at this great club. I would like to thank my team-mates, the coaches, all the staff at City and the fans for everything they have done during my time here.”
Cancelo enjoyed great success at City before being sidelined by Guardiola during the 2022-23 season, during which he was shipped out to Bayern Munich on loan. The City boss has been open about his current preference for defensively solid full-backs, often deploying natural centre-backs for the role due to their strength in one-v-one situations.
Al Hilal is the 8th club of a career in which Cancelo has collected an illustrious list of clubs: Benfica, Valencia, Internazionale, Juventus, Man City, Bayern Munich and Barcelona. The signing is a major coup for Jorge Jesus’ side, who were undefeated in winning the Pro League last term and hope to have star forward Neymar available in the coming weeks after a long lay-off.
By @SeanGillen9