Manchester City defender Joao Cancelo has reportedly turned down the chance to make the move to the Saudi Pro League in favour of completing an initial loan switch to Barcelona.
The Portugal international spent the second half of last season on loan at Bayern Munich after a breakdown in his relationship with Citizens head coach Pep Guardiola.
Bayern turned down the chance to make the move permanent, which saw him return to the Etihad Stadium, but he is not in Man City's plans for the 2023-24 campaign.
Barcelona have been heavily linked with the right-back, and transfer expert Fabrizio Romano recently said that the La Liga champions were in the driving seat for his signature.
"Cancelo is not in City's plans and he hasn't been since the beginning of the summer when they decided to put him on the market," Romano told GIVEMESPORT.
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"So Barcelona are the big favourites, absolutely. Right after selling Ousmane Dembele internally in Barcelona they started to discuss the possibility to invest part of that money to bid again for Cancelo.
"Barcelona will bid again and it's going to be a bid for a loan deal with a buy option.
"This is the discussion, City were hoping for different conditions because they wanted a permanent transfer, so they need some time to structure this deal."
Barcelona's financial problems mean that they are not in a position to sign the 29-year-old permanently this summer, but they could be in a position to complete a deal next summer.
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According to Mundo Deportivo, Cancelo recently received a lucrative offer from Saudi Arabia and had been tempted by the chance to make the move to the Saudi Pro League.
However, the report claims that the Portuguese has always been set on joining Barcelona and has therefore rejected what would have been a big-money deal.
Cancelo's contract at the Etihad Stadium has another four years left to run, placing the English champions in a strong position when it comes to any potential negotiations over a future transfer fee.
The defender made the move to Man City from Juventus in August 2019, and he has represented the club on 154 occasions in all competitions, scoring nine goals and registering 22 assists.
Meanwhile, he managed one goal and six assists in 21 outings while on loan at Bayern.
Matt Law
