Al-Hilal, the dominant team in the Saudi Pro League, is rumored to have officially bid for undesired Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo.
Formerly, the Portugal international was a cornerstone of Pep Guardiola’s defensive scheme, where he excelled as a left- and right-sided inverted full-back.
Cancelo, who paid £55.3 million to join City from Juventus in 2019, has scored nine goals and provided 21 assists for the Premier League winners in 154 games across all competitions in the last five years.
But at the beginning of the 2022–2023 season, the 30-year-old unexpectedly lost favor with Guardiola. He spent the rest of the season on loan to Bayern Munich before spending a stint at Barcelona the previous season.
Cancelo made an impression under Xavi last season, leading to talk of a potential permanent move to Catalonia, and Barca are believed to be fearful of losing current first-choice left-back Alejandro Balde.
