Barcelona have held a high-level transfer summit with super-agent Jorge Mendes on the eve of unveiling Germany forward Karim Adeyemi as their latest signing.
The Portuguese representative met senior officials at the Catalan club in the city on Wednesday night, as preparations continued for Adeyemi’s official presentation on Thursday, according to Catalan newspaper SPORT.
The dinner summit touched on several live transfer dossiers, including the future of academy midfielder Marc Casado and the possibility of bringing Portugal defender Joao Cancelo back to Barcelona on a permanent deal.
Cancelo spent the second half of last season on loan at Barca from Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal and is understood to be open to a return.
High-level dinner talks
Journalist Carlos Monfort of SPORT reported that Mendes dined with Barcelona sporting director Deco and Alejandro Echevarria, a senior adviser to club president Joan Laporta.
The meeting took place in Barcelona and was described as wide-ranging, covering current and future moves in the transfer market as the club reshapes its squad.
A central item on the agenda was the situation of 20-year-old midfielder Marc Casado, who has been on the fringes of the first team and is considered one of La Masia’s promising prospects. Barcelona must decide whether to integrate him more firmly into the senior squad or seek alternative options to aid his development.
The executives also discussed how to secure Cancelo’s services on a long-term basis following his loan spell, during which he featured regularly under former coach Xavi Hernandez.
Focus on Cancelo’s future
Barcelona are keen to reinforce both full-back positions and see Cancelo’s versatility, experience and attacking qualities as valuable assets.
However, his contractual situation is complex. Cancelo is owned by Manchester City and was loaned to Al-Hilal, from where he joined Barcelona on a temporary deal last season. Any permanent move would need to satisfy all parties, with Barcelona still constrained by financial fair play requirements in La Liga.
Mendes, who represents Cancelo, is viewed as pivotal in navigating those negotiations, using his extensive network and longstanding relationships with European clubs.
Other Mendes clients at Barca
The report adds that Mendes also acts for Barcelona defenders Alejandro Balde and Hector Fort, two of the club’s brightest young talents.
While both players are considered part of Barcelona’s long-term plans, their situations were not deemed to require urgent decisions during Wednesday’s talks. The club is understood to be content with their current trajectories and contractual positions.
Balde, in particular, has already broken into the first team and earned senior international recognition with Spain, while Fort has begun to feature more prominently and is highly rated internally.
Strong ties with Real Madrid
Mendes’s influence in Spanish football extends beyond Barcelona. He maintains close links with Real Madrid and, according to the same report, played a key role in orchestrating the return of Portuguese coach Jose Mourinho to the Santiago Bernabeu earlier this summer.
Those dual relationships underscore Mendes’s status as one of the most powerful figures in the game, capable of shaping major decisions at Spain’s two biggest clubs.
Wednesday night’s meeting in Barcelona reinforces that standing, coming at a moment when the Catalan side are seeking to rebuild a squad capable of competing domestically and in Europe, while managing significant financial pressures.
Further developments around Cancelo, Casado and other Mendes clients are expected in the coming weeks as Barcelona continue their summer transfer business following Adeyemi’s arrival.
