Barcelona’s first January signing revealed in bizarre Instagram post

Robin Bairner

8 Jan 2026 13:52 GMT
4 min read

Hansi Flick, Barcelona, 2025/26 — © IMAGO

Barcelona have their first signing of the January transfer window – but the Catalan club will doubtless be baffled at the unlikely way that the deal has been announced.

Article continues under the video

Joao Cancelo is set to return to Camp Nou from Al-Hilal, but the manner in which the transfer was broken will rank as one of the most bizarre of this or any other transfer window.

Flavia de Oliveira, the mother of former Barcelona midfielder Malcom, revealed that the move is on.

“I had the pleasure of meeting the best right-back in the world. A person with a huge heart and unparalleled humility,” she wrote on Instagram stories.

“I hope you are very happy in this new stage of your life. Catalonia will have the pleasure of having you making history at FC Barcelona. Visca el Barca and visca Joao Cancelo.”

© Instagram - Joao Cancelo is heading back to Barcelona, says Malcom's mum

Barca beat Inter to Joao Cancelo

Joao Cancelo is poised to return to Barca after spending the 2032/24 season on loan at the club from Manchester City. It proved to be a successful season on a personal basis, even if it did not result in any trophies, and the Catalans seriously considered signing him at that point.

Barca have beaten Inter Milan to the 31-year-old, with the right-back set to arrive imminently.

According to Fabrizio Romano: “The proposal is for a loan deal until the end of the season, with Barcelona prepared to cover a small portion of the player’s substantial salary in Saudi Arabia. This marks a key moment, as negotiations are now entering a decisive phase.

“The player never accepted Inter’s solution, choosing instead to wait for Barcelona before making any decision.

“This patience has now been rewarded, with Barcelona officially entering the race. Barcelona will be in Saudi Arabia for the Super Cup in the coming days, and this could allow talks to progress quickly on the ground. What is clear is that Barcelona are now actively negotiating to sign Cancelo, and the player’s preference is to return to Barcelona. This is a story set to develop rapidly.”

Who is Malcom?

Malcom will be remembered as one of the worst signings in Barcelona's history.

He moved to Barca in the summer of 2018 off the back of a terrific season in Ligue 1 with Bordeaux but was unable to continue his progress at Camp Nou.

The young Brazilian impressed in France with his eye-catching long-range shooting. But playing for Bordeaux and Barcelona are very different things and his move to the Catalan giants proved rushed.

There is no doubt that Bordeaux negotiated well to get €41m for a player who was a scorer of great goals rather than a great scorer of goals, and Malcom was soon moved onto Zenit Saint Petersburg.

After a prolific spell in Russia, he subsequently moved to Al-Hilal, where he teamed up with Joao Cancelo.

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