Cancelo was standing in the tunnel with the rest of the squad during Wednesday’s team presentation before the Joan Gamper Trophy. He was dressed and ready to step onto the Spotify Camp Nou pitch, but his name was never announced.

Footage from the tunnel showed him waiting in full Barcelona kit. Lamine Yamal even appeared to ask whether he was going out. Cancelo could only respond with a resigned gesture. There are probably not many suitable answers when you already have the shirt, the number and a place beside your teammates, yet officially remain a player of another club.

Barcelona attempted to complete the paperwork before the presentation began. They ran out of time. Cancelo therefore remained behind the scenes and his official return was delayed by several hours. Barça had once again managed to turn a player walking out of a tunnel into a two-part administrative drama.

The situation is expected to be resolved today. Cancelo will sign the agreement in the president’s office alongside his agent, Jorge Mendes, before appearing in front of the media. According to reports in Spain, his contract will run until 30 June 2029.

The defender joins on a free transfer after terminating his contract with Al-Hilal. His agreement in Saudi Arabia had been due to expire in 2027, but Cancelo made it clear that he wanted to return to Catalonia. Reports also indicate that he gave up part of the money owed to him to make the operation possible.

That detail makes Wednesday’s scene even more striking. Cancelo made a financial sacrifice to move closer to Barcelona, Barcelona prepared his shirt, and then both parties reached the tunnel only for the paperwork to inform them that the happy ending would have to wait.

This will be the 32-year-old’s third spell with Barça, but his first as a permanent Barcelona player. He initially arrived on loan from Manchester City for the 2023/24 season. He returned in January 2026 on another temporary deal, this time from Al-Hilal. His new contract is expected to keep him at the club for another three seasons.

Cancelo becomes Barcelona’s fifth signing of the summer after Anthony Gordon, Karim Adeyemi, Jesse Bisiwu and Rodri. Hansi Flick already knows the Portuguese defender, who was mainly used on the left side of defence during the second half of last season but is also capable of playing on the right. His versatility gives the coach another option while the club continues to make decisions over the futures of several defenders.

From a financial perspective, the transfer itself is difficult to criticise. Barça are adding an experienced player who already knows the team without paying a transfer fee, while Cancelo clearly wanted the move. The club still found enough room for an operational complication, meaning the first memorable image of his latest return was not a contract signing or a smile beside Laporta, but a player turning away inside the tunnel.

At 1:45pm, the paperwork should finally catch up with the shirt Barcelona had already prepared. After that, the club can move on to the next traditional stage of its summer: trying to register every new signing on time.

The signing has still not been made official. The final paperwork did not arrive in time. When the players were called out one by one by their numbers, Cancelo’s name was not announced. He stayed in the dressing room.

Lamine Yamal noticed. He asked him directly: “Aren’t you coming out?” Cancelo shrugged.

He then watched the match from the stands, sitting next to Rodri, who had already been presented.

This is Cancelo’s third spell at Barcelona. The first was a loan from Manchester City in 2023-24. The second was a loan from Al-Hilal from January to June 2026. Now it is meant to be permanent. The 32-year-old terminated his contract in Saudi Arabia, arrived in Barcelona on Monday 17 August and is due to sign until June 2029. The club wanted to announce him before the Gamper so he could be introduced to the fans. It did not happen.

After landing, Cancelo said he was where he wanted to be. He told Deco it was either Barcelona or a year sitting unused in Saudi Arabia while still collecting his salary. He gave up part of that salary because it was “Barça or nothing”.

In practice the deal is all but done. The official statement has not been published. The club spent Tuesday and Wednesday trying to rush the announcement. The last document missed the deadline.

Classic Barcelona. Player in the dressing room, shirt already on, supporters waiting, and the paperwork still running late. Cancelo is trying for the third time to stay for good. This time the obstacle was not competition on the flanks, but administration.

The announcement is expected in the coming hours. Until then he remains the player who is already there but is not yet officially there.

According to AS, Rodri is expected to arrive in Barcelona on Monday to complete the final details of a four-year contract. Manchester City have accepted the offer, the player had already agreed personal terms, and only the paperwork, medical examination and official club announcements remain. The transfer is not official yet, but this time Barcelona are waiting for signatures rather than another round of negotiations.

Rodri is scheduled to undergo his medical on Tuesday. Barcelona will supplement those tests with the results of examinations carried out in England after he returned to Manchester City. This is an important part of the process because the midfielder underwent minor back surgery following the World Cup. The operation is not expected to threaten the move, although it could delay his debut and require a cautious return to full training.

Provided the documents do not disappear into one of the many mysterious drawers at the club’s offices, Barcelona could announce the signing on Tuesday. The presentation is being planned for Wednesday, alongside the 61st edition of the Joan Gamper Trophy. Barcelona will face Al-Ahly at the Spotify Camp Nou and present their squad to the supporters before the new season.

The Athletic reports that the guaranteed fee will be €60 million. Manchester City could receive another €16.5 million in bonuses, with around €11 million described as easily achievable. The real cost of the deal is therefore likely to exceed €70 million even if every condition is not triggered.

An agreement was not reached immediately. City rejected two previous Barcelona bids before the clubs finally found common ground on Sunday evening. Rodri was determined to return to Spain and chose Barcelona’s project despite interest from Real Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain.

The midfielder was reportedly attracted by the team’s established playing style and the presence of several Spain teammates. He will be reunited with Pedri, Gavi, Dani Olmo, Lamine Yamal, Pau Cubarsí, Eric García and Joan García. Ferran Torres will not be there. His transfer to Paris Saint-Germain for around €50 million helped make the Rodri operation possible. One Spain international left, another is coming in, and Barcelona’s finances briefly discovered a sense of rhythm.

Barcelona are signing the 2024 Ballon d’Or winner, Spain’s World Cup-winning captain and a player who spent seven seasons at the heart of Manchester City’s midfield. Rodri made 298 appearances for the English club, won 12 major trophies and scored the winning goal in the 2023 Champions League final.

Only the medical, signatures and official photographs remain. AI can finally stop guessing what Rodri will look like in a Barcelona shirt. Although, knowing the internet, it will immediately move on to generating Julián Álvarez.

The most interesting experiment was Raphinha’s central role. The Brazilian operated as a false nine, dropping towards the ball and creating space for teammates attacking from wider positions. It is not completely unfamiliar territory for him, but it can hardly be described as a natural answer to the departure of two strikers.

Barcelona won 5–2, so the experiment did not set off any emergency alarms. That does not mean every problem has disappeared. Raphinha can create space and contribute to the build-up, but the team still needs someone who will consistently occupy the penalty area and finish moves.

Hamza Abdelkarim could be given that opportunity. The Egyptian took another chance by scoring from Karim Adeyemi’s delivery. He moved well without the ball, worked hard in the press and looked like a natural centre-forward. The problem is obvious: Barcelona would be entering the season placing enormous expectations on a player who is still trying to establish himself in the senior squad.

Flick also experimented in midfield. Xavi Espart was used in the double pivot, while Brian Fariñas received more minutes. These are emergency options during Frenkie de Jong’s absence and further evidence that the coach is preparing for the possibility that the transfer department may not complete every planned deal.

None of this confirms Barcelona’s hierarchy for the entire season. These are observations from a preseason match and an attempt to find solutions from within the squad. Barcelona still have the Joan Gamper Trophy match against Al-Ahly to play, giving Flick one final opportunity to test his ideas before the La Liga campaign begins.

Barcelona still want to sign a striker, with Álvarez remaining the most prominent name linked with the club. Until an agreement is reached with Atlético Madrid, Flick must work with what he has. For now, the plan is straightforward: Raphinha can imitate a number nine, Hamza can try to become one, and Barcelona can continue insisting that everything is under control.

Cadena SER, cited by Goal, reported on Friday that the Argentine had “fully owned up to his mistake” in the dressing room and admitted his public transfer request during the World Cup had been badly handled. Almost immediately, ESPN Argentina denied it: the forward had apologised to no one at Atlético and still considers his time there over. Two days later, the story took yet another turn — according to SPORT, Álvarez’s camp requested an urgent meeting with CEO Miguel Ángel Gil Marín over the weekend of August 15-16 to try to unblock a move to Barcelona. Hard to find better proof that no reconciliation, apology or otherwise, ever happened.

This wasn’t his first attempt at contact. On August 10, the day he returned to training after the World Cup, Álvarez already sought a meeting with Gil Marín, who was still on holiday. The next day he did speak with Diego Simeone, but according to Argentine outlet El Intransigente, it didn’t go the way the player hoped: the coach reportedly told him the transfer question was “a boardroom matter, not mine,” while confirming he’s counting on Álvarez for the coming season. He was then left out of Friday’s squad for the friendly against Olympique Marseille — officially for physical reasons, though reports suggest he told Simeone he no longer wants to wear the Atlético jersey.

In the background, a formal case is still working its way through the Spanish federation. In late June, Atlético filed a complaint with the RFEF and FIFA accusing Barcelona of “harassment” and illegal contact with a player under contract during the protected period. The RFEF has opened disciplinary proceedings, and Barcelona now has to submit its defence. Financial penalties are on the table, and in the worst-case scenario, sanctions could extend to player suspension or restrictions on Barcelona’s ability to register new signings — which, given their attacking exits this summer, would sting badly.

For now, the official status hasn’t changed: Barcelona submitted a €100 million bid this summer, which Atlético rejected outright; Real Madrid reportedly offered €150 million, also unsuccessfully. Álvarez is under contract until June 2030, with a release clause reportedly set at €500 million. None of those figures amount to an actual deal in progress — this remains interest and a rejected bid, not active negotiations.

Atlético open their league season on Wednesday, August 19, against Málaga, and whether Álvarez even makes the matchday squad remains unclear. Barcelona, meanwhile, are still waiting — weeks now — for a response nobody in Madrid seems in a hurry to give.

City have no intention of offering a summer discount. Barcelona’s previous bids have been rejected and Rodri’s valuation remains around €70–80 million. Barça are trying to structure the operation with part of the fee in bonuses, while City want a sufficiently large guaranteed payment. 

Barcelona nevertheless remain confident. Rodri is the priority and apparently looking for a Plan B would simply be unnecessary pessimism. The midfielder is interested in the move, while City are accounting for the possibility of his departure. 

Classic Barça negotiations: the seller wants more, the previous offers weren’t enough, but Catalonia already knows when everything is supposed to end happily. Now they just need to tell Manchester City.

The first two proposals also fell well short of City’s expectations, with one of them reportedly viewed in Manchester as almost unserious. Despite that, City are not completely closing the door on Rodri’s departure. The club are prepared to take into account his wish to return to Spain, but apparently sentiment ends exactly where the missing £10 million begins.

Rodri’s situation is also starting to affect City’s other transfer plans. The English club are working on a deal for Enzo Fernández, with Chelsea demanding as much as £120 million, but a full push for the Argentine is expected to depend on Rodri’s future being resolved first. One transfer is now waiting behind another, while Barcelona are standing at the front of the queue with another attempt to knock the price down.

For now, the gap is simple: Barça are preparing around £60 million, City want £70 million. If Barcelona are really as convinced as reports in Catalonia suggest that Rodri will eventually arrive, someone will have to make the final move. Judging by City’s position so far, it probably will not be Manchester City.

The striker has also made his position clear inside the dressing room: as long as he remains an Atlético player, his commitment to the club will be total. Whether that means two days, one year or longer. That effectively removes the prospect of any rebellion to force an exit.

More importantly, Talavera reports that Julián now understands he will not be transferred to Barcelona this summer and is increasingly coming to terms with staying in Madrid. That does not necessarily mean he suddenly fell back in love with life under Simeone. It looks more like the moment when you finally look at the whole mess and realise you may have pushed things a little too far.

Barcelona waited, Atlético refused to bend and Julián is still exactly where he started. A huge transfer saga may therefore end in a very familiar Barça fashion: plenty of noise, endless headlines and no signature at the bottom of a contract.

That is a significant development from Wednesday’s reports. The Guardian had described Barcelona’s improved offer as being around €60m and close to City’s valuation. The Times now reports that the proposal has been rejected and City’s required price is considerably higher. 

So Barcelona have reached the part of the transfer where the player’s preference is no longer the difficult bit. Rodri reportedly wants Barça, Barça certainly want Rodri, but Manchester City would also like to be paid what they consider an acceptable fee. Rodri is due back in Manchester on Friday, while Barcelona must decide whether a third bid is worth it. 

Simeone is not there either. The Atlético coach did not return with the squad following their trip to Seoul and is using the team’s two days off for a short break. The pair are now unlikely to meet before Wednesday, when Atlético resume group training. The club’s public position has not changed: Álvarez is not for sale and remains part of Simeone’s plans.

Monday was supposed to unlock the entire deal. Barça were waiting for the player to apply pressure, the media were waiting for the showdown, and Simeone went on holiday. Barcelona’s biggest transfer operation still depends on a meeting in Madrid that does not involve Barcelona — and now that meeting has been postponed too.