Is Manchester City's Joao Cancelo Moving To Al-Hilal?

Joao Cancelo’s stint at Manchester City is expected to come to an end soon. As per multiple media reports, Cancelo will complete his move to Saudi Pro League outfit Al-Hilal.

As per a now-viral X (formerly Twitter) post, “Al Hilal are reportedly close to signing Joao Cancelo and the medical is set for Friday. The deal is worth €38m.”

A report published by The Guardian had previously claimed that Manchester City defenders Kyle Walker and Cancelo are on a three-man shortlist to bolster Al-Hilal’s defence. The other player on this list is a current Bayer Leverkusen defender Jeremie Frimpong, as per the article.

Al-Hilal were initially interested in signing Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold but the English full‑back had understandably not expressed much desire to move to Saudi Arabia.

As per The Guardian, the Saudi side are exploring right-back options to replace Saud Abdulhamid, who has reportedly gained interest from French club Reims and Italian outfit Roma. The Serie A club is understood to have tabled an offer for the 25-year-old.

Meanwhile, Joao Cancelo had spent the past season and a half on loan at Bayern Munich and Barcelona. He was left out of the Manchester City squad that won their Premier League opening contest against Chelsea on Sunday. The Portuguese international is currently under contract at Manchester City until 2027. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola recently talked about his potential transfer move away from the club.

“About what’s going to happen, it depends on his agents and the club. In the end, if he has to stay we will treat him like all the other players, with respect, and try to take the best from the huge qualities he has,” Pep Guardiola said, as per The Guardian.

Joao Cancelo had joined Manchester City in 2019. The 30-year-old has so far featured in 154 matches for the reigning Premier League champions across all competitions. The Portuguese international has netted nine goals and registered 21 assists during his stay at Manchester City.

During the second half of the 2022-23 season, Joao Cancelo spent at Bayern Munich on loan. Cancelo represented the Bavarian giants 21 times and registered one goal and six assists. Last season, Barcelona had signed Cancelo on a loan deal. In international football, Cancelo represented Portugal in 58 matches.