João Cancelo Reflects on Al-Hilal Experience After Barcelona Triumph

João Cancelo has barely finished spraying the champagne on Barcelona’s 2025-26 La Liga title before reopening one of the most contentious chapters of his career: his short, sour spell at Al-Hilal.

The full-back, reborn in Catalonia after a turbulent few years, has accused the Saudi club of misleading him over his status in the squad, claiming he was promised a place in their league list only to be cut adrift when it mattered most.

“They did not tell me the truth”

Speaking to DAZN, Cancelo stripped away any diplomatic varnish. “At Al-Hilal, unfortunately, I had people who did not tell me the truth. They told me I was going to be registered for the Saudi league list, and then, when the time came, they did not do it. After that, I’m always the one left with the bad image… but at least I keep my word, and I would not trade it for anything. I have always been the same way. I am straightforward and I do not hold grudges against anyone,” he said.

It was supposed to be a flagship move. The former Manchester City defender arrived in Saudi Arabia as a marquee signing, the kind of high-profile, European-tested player meant to anchor an ambitious project. Instead, he found himself squeezed out by a cold, bureaucratic reality: the foreign-player quota.

That rule, and the way he says it was handled, effectively ended his Al-Hilal stint before it ever truly began.

A revived star, a tangled future

Barcelona offered him a way back to the elite stage. On loan in Catalonia, Cancelo has rebuilt both reputation and rhythm, becoming a key piece in a title-winning side and reminding Europe why he was once considered one of the most complete full-backs in the game.

Yet the revival on the pitch masks a knotty situation off it.

Al-Hilal, who last year decided he had no place in their sporting project, are now reportedly drawing a hard line. They do not want to lose him for nothing and have placed a €15 million price tag on his head.

The same foreign-player quota that helped push him out still looms in the background. If the club cannot make space or refuses to compromise on their valuation, Cancelo’s future turns into a chessboard of clashing interests.

Barcelona’s stance is clear: they would like to keep him, but only on a free. That condition collides directly with Al-Hilal’s financial demands and leaves the player suspended between two worlds — vital in one, surplus in the other.

No grudges, no guarantees

The most striking part of Cancelo’s account is not the accusation itself, but the way he frames it. He insists he bears no grudges. He stresses his own consistency, his determination to keep his word even when he feels others did not.

That attitude leaves the door, if not exactly open, then at least unlocked. Should a permanent move to Barcelona fail and no buyer step forward at Al-Hilal’s asking price, the idea of Cancelo being reintegrated into the Saudi club’s squad no longer sounds completely impossible. Unlikely, yes. But not unthinkable.

For now, he celebrates as a champion in Spain, his reputation restored, his football flowing again. The next move, though, will depend on who blinks first: the club that sidelined him, or the club that wants him only on its own terms.