Barcelona and Vitor Roque reach dead-end in negotiations | OneFootball

The case of Vitor Roque at Barcelona is queer, to say the least.

Roque arrived in Catalonia in last season’s winter transfer window as a reinforcement striker who had the potential to take over from Robert Lewandowski in the long run.

Despite scoring two goals in La Liga in his limited minutes, however, it did not take long for the manager at the time, Xavi Hernandez, to push him to the sidelines.

As months swung by, Roque’s involvement in the team’s games fell to virtually zero and it became clear that the management did not maintain faith in him.

A new beginning, in theory

Xavi’s shock sacking earlier this year came as a move not many saw coming.

While many in the locker room were touched by the manager’s departure, Roque was undoubtedly one of the happier parties.

After all, with a new manager set to arrive, he would have his chance to shine once more. His situation, however, has not changed even after the arrival of Hansi Flick.

Roque during a friendly match vs Manchester City under Hansi Flick. (Photo by Rich Storry/Getty Images)

If anything, Tigrinho is now closer to the exit door than he was before and was even left out of the squad for Barcelona’s game against Valencia as he was not registered for La Liga.

Dead end reached

Barcelona and Roque, as it stands, have no clear plan for his future and stare at a dead-end concerning their future together.

The club maintain that the player must look for a way out of the club if he wishes for minutes. They did not even allow him a new shirt number for the ongoing season after Lamine Yamal took over his number 19.

With less than two weeks left on the transfer market, Roque’s future is entering a grey area.

The Catalans hope to recoup the €30 million they invested in his signing, after all, but that appears complicated given his limited involvement.

As it stands, Real Betis and Everton are said to be interested in his signing but there is yet to be a major breakthrough in terms of negotiations. The coming weeks will be decisive.