Super-agent Jorge Mendes arrives in Barcelona for transfer talks

Jorge Mendes, the man who essentially runs a parallel front office for half of European football, touched down in Barcelona this week for a round of high-stakes transfer meetings. The founder of GestiFute sat down with FC Barcelona sporting director Deco and club adviser Alejandro Echevarria on July 23 to work through a stack of player files as the club pieces together its squad for the 2026-27 season. His visit centered on two priority names: midfielder Marc Casadó, whose future at the club has become a pressing question, and João Cancelo, the versatile defender currently on loan from Al Hilal whose situation Barcelona is keen to resolve on a permanent basis. The Casadó question and Cancelo’s future Then there’s Cancelo. The Portuguese full-back has been operating on loan at Camp Nou, and Barcelona appears interested in making the arrangement permanent. Converting a loan into a full transfer is rarely straightforward, especially for a club that has spent the better part of several years performing financial gymnastics just to register new signings. A growing web of influence at Camp Nou Casadó and Cancelo weren’t the only names on the agenda. Mendes also raised the situations of A...