FOOTBALL – Manchester City’s Portugal defender Joao Cancelo has joined Saudi Arabian club Al Hilal, both sides said yesterday.
Cancelo joined City in 2019 from Juventus, winning three consecutive Premier League titles from 2021 to 2023 after securing the Serie A crown with Juve in 2018-19.
He spent last season on loan at LaLiga side Barcelona after a half-year loan spell in the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich in the previous campaign.
Cancelo, 30, made his Portugal debut in a 5-0 friendly win over Gibraltar in August 2016, soon after they became European champions in France. He has represented his country more than 50 times.
Meanwhile, AS Roma have signed defender Saud Abdulhamid from Al Hilal, the Serie A club announced yesterday.
Italian media reported the deal for the 25-year-old defender was worth 3 million euros ($3.35m).
“Roma is pleased to announce the signing of Saud Abdulhamid on a permanent deal from Al Hilal,” the club said in a statement.
The Saudi International was a key player for Jorge Jesus’s side last season, netting four times and providing nine assists in all competitions to help Al Hilal win a domestic treble.
In another development, the Philadelphia Union completed the transfer of defender Damion Lowe to Saudi Professional League club Al Akhdoud yesterday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Lowe, 31, is from Kingston, Jamaica, and will become the only player from the Concacaf region on the Al Akhdoud roster.
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