The Saudi club had initially hoped the Portuguese full-back would join Barcelona's pre-season stage in England, but the operation has dragged into late July without a resolution.
A detail from the past 24 hours has fuelled speculation over his next move: Rúben Neves, Cancelo's Portugal teammate, has already reported to Al-Hilal's pre-season camp in Austria after Portugal's World Cup run ended on 6 July, when Spain eliminated them.
Al-Hilal confirmed on social media that Neves had passed his medical and rejoined the squad, but there was no mention of Cancelo, and his absence has not gone unnoticed.
Cancelo, 31, has offered no clues of his own. His most recent social media post shows him training alone on a pitch, wearing a light blue and pink kit, with no reference to his future.
Barcelona's interest is well established. Hansi Flick was full of praise for the full-back's performances during a six-month loan spell last season, when his versatility across both flanks made him an important player, eventually establishing him as first-choice left-back in the run-in. The player himself has never hidden his wish to stay at Camp Nou.
The main obstacle remains contractual. Cancelo is still tied to Al-Hilal until 2027, having joined the Saudi club in August 2024 after an earlier loan at Barcelona from Manchester City in 2023-24, during which he made 42 appearances. Before that he had also represented Benfica, Valencia, Inter Milan, Juventus and Bayern Munich over the course of his career. From the outset, Barcelona had expected the negotiation to run long given the financial and tax complexities involved in resolving his exit, according to Spanish reports.
Neves' own situation had been comparable before his return to Al-Hilal duty. Both players finished their World Cup commitments with Portugal on the same date, having exhausted the three weeks of mandatory holiday allowed under FIFA regulations before rejoining their clubs.
That Neves reported on schedule while Cancelo did not has only added to the sense inside Barcelona that an agreement, however delayed, remains the most likely outcome this summer.