The Saudis are ready to contribute to his $15 million annual salary. For the Portuguese player, who already played for Inter in 2017-18, it would be a return to San Siro

During the holidays, Joao Cancelo took only half a bite of cake. He has decided half of his future and, for this reason, will not set foot in Saudi Arabia for the next six months. The second bite, the most important choice, is still missing: the Portuguese player must decide which European big club he will take his wild, unpredictable talent to between now and the World Cup in North America.

At first, when the wound of his breakup with Simone Inzaghi was still fresh, Joao saw himself exclusively in Barcelona, a city he knew from an uninspiring season before ending up in the Saudi golden prison. Then, however, Inter came along and caused a storm in the desert: they surprisingly inserted themselves into the weaknesses of the Catalan accounts, but not before checking Al-Hilal’s willingness to help with the deal (as far as possible). The Riyadh Blues are a friendly club that only six months ago was able to welcome the coach who was under contract with the Nerazzurri without any real obstacles. At the same time, they would also like to fill Francesco Acerbi, Inzaghi’s loyalist, with millions. However, the 37-year-old, who has just returned from injury, would see himself more in the Middle East at the end of the season than now.

Inter waiting—  In short, in the last few hours, Joao has seen firsthand how Inter’s desire to sign him in a very short time is greater than that of the Blaugrana, who are, as always, trapped by financial fair play restrictions: the different perspectives of the two clubs have a huge impact on a game that is still open. In any case, returning to Milan, where he really began to shine in 2017-18, is a prospect that increasingly appeals to Joao. The idea is maturing by the hour, partly because the 31-year-old winger himself has realized that the financial obstacle of his salary is less insurmountable for Inter than it might have seemed at first. The Nerazzurri have in fact verified an initial, decisive opening from the Riyadh club: Al-Hilal, which holds Cancelo’s registration until 2027 with a salary of $15 million net plus bonuses, could effectively contribute to the payment of a large part of the maxi-salary that remains between now and June. The Saudis are very keen to get rid of a problem that has exploded dangerously in Simone’s dressing room: the Portuguese player and Inzaghi have been at loggerheads since the beginning, and after an injury, Cancelo has fallen down the pecking order to the point of being excluded from the list for 2026. The salary change is strategic and gives Inter’s management cause for optimism: Inter could pay a maximum of $3 million net, but the remaining $4.5 million would still be borne by the Saudis. In any case, until all the pieces of the puzzle magically fall into place, it is impossible to take any developments for granted. From Inter’s perspective, the operation is feasible, even “easy” in structure, but no further progress can be made until the player makes up his mind in the coming days. In this scenario, time is the decisive variable: Inter need to act quickly to prevent other big clubs on the continent from pouncing on their prey, not to mention the fact that they need to fill the gap left on the right by Dumfries’ injury. The inconsistent Luis Henrique cannot carry the load alone for another two months.

On the run—  Behind the scenes, therefore, the Nerazzurri are extremely serious and in a great hurry: they would like to see their former player back in Appiano in early January to check his physical condition, and with the war of the worlds against Napoli just around the corner on the 11th, they need to add as many arrows to their quiver as possible. While discussing figures with the Saudis, president Beppe Marotta and sporting director Piero Ausilio are in close contact with Jorge Mendes, the super-agent who has good offices in Milan, but also very good ones in Catalonia. He has managed Cancelo’s career since the full-back made his debut with Benfica and spent the holidays on the phone with the Nerazzurri managers (but also with Juve, who asked for information without, however, making any progress): the phones rang on the last day of 2025 and also on the first day of 2026. Mendes himself, like Joao, took his exclusion from the Saudi list as a serious insult and demands that the new club truly believe in the Portuguese talent. Practical demonstrations of trust are needed: several are coming from Milan, but far fewer from Barcelona.