Last summer, FC Barcelona thought they could achieve a very big coup by enlisting the nugget from Athletico Paranaense Vitor Roque. It must be said that the young Brazilian striker was considered a very big future in the number 9 position and Barça therefore paid 40 million euros to secure his services. And the idea was to see it arrive in the summer of 2024 in Catalonia. Ultimately, the Barcelona management decided to change their plans, or rather, were forced to change their plans.
Faced with the ineffectiveness of Robert Lewandowski and the lack of competition up front, the Blaugranas decided to bring in Vitor Roque in January. This was also possible thanks to Gavi’s serious injury. The young Spanish midfielder, out for the entire season, left his place in the La Liga registers to Vitor Roque who was therefore able to be registered. And after a rather interesting start, the 19-year-old striker completely disappeared from the radar. He has only played 276 minutes in La Liga in 11 matches in total. Against Real Madrid or PSG, while Barça needed people in attack, Xavi decided to leave him on the bench and not use him.
Towards a forced departure?
On the side of FC Barcelona, confidence in the young Brazilian striker remains intact despite his poor performance for the moment. The Catalan club knows that the player needs time to adapt to his new life and especially that he arrived at Barça at a time when he had not played for more than two months. According to the indiscretions of Mundo Deportivo, internally, we believe that we will have to try to be patient with Vitor Roque as Real Madrid was with Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes who took two years to fully blossom. But the situation between the two Spanish behemoths remains different.
The MD also recalls that for the 19-year-old striker the situation is unfortunately different on a point which could have major consequences. The future of Vitor Roque at Barça is unclear since the club will have to fill, this summer, the economic void left by Orpheus Media and Socios.com then Líbero and by the sale of 49.5% of Barça Studios. If Barça does not manage to free up enough money to comply with the rules of “fair play” in La Liga, knowing that the priority this summer is to recruit in midfield, in the winger position left and in left defense, Vitor Roque could be pushed towards the exit. Especially since Barça intends to re-register Gavi in La Liga. Management is therefore thinking of sacrificing Vitor Roque and a loan is mentioned. But it will also be necessary to convince the player who will have a very difficult time with this idea.
