Man City defender joins Saudi Pro League side

Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal have completed the signing of full-back Joao Cancelo from Manchester City. 

The Premier League champions confirmed on Tuesday evening that the Portuguese had completed a permanent move to the Pro League side.

Cancelo, 30, hasn’t featured for the Citizens since January last year, after an apparent fall out with manager Pep Guardiola.

Prior to that, the Portugal international had been a regular for City, making more than 150 appearances for the club across all competitions after joining from Italian side Juventus in 2019.

Following his disagreement with Guardiola, Cancelo was initially ousted from the City squad before being loaned to German giants Bayern Munich in January.

He spent the second half of the 2022/23 campaign on loan in Bavaria, before returning to Manchester last summer and then being loaned to Spanish side Barcelona.

Cancelo spent last season on loan at Barcelona

During his time in Spain, Cancelo made a total of 42 appearances, scoring four goals and registering five assists.

Cancelo departs The Etihad permanently after a successful five-year stint at the club, during which he won no fewer than eight trophies including three Premier League titles and the Champions League.

The right-back was also used on the left side of defence for large parts of his time under Guardiola, with Kyle Walker the Citizens’ first choice on the right side.

He becomes the latest in a string of high profile players to move to the Saudi Pro League over the past two years.