Joao Cancelo left Manchester City permanently.

Manchester City have finalized the permanent sale of full-back Joao Cancelo to Saudi Arabian side Al Hilal.

Cancelo hasn't played a competitive game for City since falling out of favor midway through the 2022/23 season and joining Bayern Munich on loan in January. The Portuguese then spent last season at Barcelona, but returned to Manchester when his contract expired.

Pep Guardiola had not ruled out Cancelo, who became unsatisfied with his job amid increased competition from Nathan Ake and Rico Lewis, staying and being reintegrated this season, but a move to Al Hilal has now been completed.

"I would like to wish everyone at City continued success in the future," Cancelo said after completing a reported £21 million transfer. "I experienced numerous extremely special memories throughout my time at this wonderful club.

"I would like to thank my team-mates, the coaches, all the staff at City and the fans for everything during my time here."

Cancelo is expected to earn a net salary of €15 million (£12.7 million) every season over the following three years.

In the summer of 2019, City signed Cancelo from Juventus in a deal worth up to £60 million, with Danilo traveling in the opposite direction.

He will play at Al Hilal alongside international teammate Ruben Neves, as well as fellow Portuguese speakers Neymar, Malcom, and Renan Lodi, under legendary Portuguese coach Jorge Jesus.

Saud Abdulhamid has made a historic move to Roma, freeing up room for Cancelo. The 25-year-old, who competed in the 2022 World Cup, will become the first Saudi player to appear in one of Europe's top five divisions - the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Bundesliga, or Ligue 1. Historically, relatively few players from the oil-rich Gulf state have ever ventured abroad.

Al Hilal won the Saudi Pro League last season and are already at the top of the table again after defeating Al Okhdood 3-0 in their first match on Saturday.

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