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João Cancelo awaits an unprecedented step in Barcelona's history

Al-Hilal full-back João Cancelo is fighting hard to fulfil his ambition of returning once more to Barcelona.

Recent hours have brought the Portugal international closer to a Barça return, a move that would also make him a distinctive figure at the club and in the game more widely.

Mundo Deportivo reported: "This would be Cancelo's third spell in a Barcelona shirt, bearing in mind that he was forced this summer to return temporarily to training with his club Al-Hilal."

Barcelona have welcomed back several prominent players who left and later returned, but only ever for two spells.

Take Hristo Stoichkov, who moved to Parma in 1995 before heading back in 1996. In more recent years, Dani Alves terminated his contract with São Paulo and played the second half of the 2021-2022 season at the Camp Nou.

Iván de la Peña offers another example. He joined Lazio in 1998, then returned to Barcelona on loan during the 2000-2001 season.

Then there are the academy graduates who left during their development years before coming home to Barcelona as professionals. Some returned for free, such as Eric García. Others came back via a buy-back option, such as Gerard Piqué and Jordi Alba. Dani Olmo was signed for his market value, while Gerard López cost a large sum.

Elsewhere, well-known players have managed three spells at the same club. Among the more unusual cases are Carlos Tévez with Boca Juniors, Adriano Leite with Flamengo, and Nuri Şahin with Borussia Dortmund.

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The move to Barcelona in the 2023-2024 season
Cancelo would therefore be a rare case if he completes a third spell with Barcelona, although his return this time would most likely be the first in which he is a player fully owned by the club.
The Portugal international full-back first arrived at Barcelona on loan from Manchester City.
His relationship with Pep Guardiola had soured, and in September 2023 Cancelo joined up with Xavi Hernandez's side, brought in to play at right-back.
He saw out the agreed season and left a good impression, mixing notable performances with a few glaring mistakes before his first spell in the club's shirt came to an end.
Across the 2023-2024 campaign, the Portuguese featured in 42 matches, 32 of them in La Liga and 10 in the Champions League. He scored 4 goals and provided 5 assists, whether deployed on the left or right of the defensive line.
That summer, in August 2024, Cancelo left Manchester City for Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal in a 25 million euro deal. Barcelona were in no position to extend his stay.

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Return to Barcelona in the 2025-2026 season
The winter window of the 2025-2026 season handed him the chance to return to Barcelona, once again on loan.
Al-Hilal were the club letting him go this time. Cancelo had rebuilt a strong relationship with the Barcelona manager yet again, on this occasion with Flick.
January 2026 saw Cancelo unveiled once more as a Barcelona player until the end of the 2025-2026 season.
Across that second half of last season, he racked up 23 appearances for Barcelona: 16 in La Liga, four in the Champions League and three in the Copa del Rey.
He chipped in with two goals and three assists in La Liga, plus one assist in the Copa del Rey.
Now 32, Cancelo wants back at Barcelona for good, this time as a permanent, full member of the squad. It is a club that has never stopped signalling just how attached he is to it.