Real Betis Sporting Director refutes reports of Barcelona loanee asking for an exit | OneFootball

Since he left his home country of Brazil to join FC Barcelona, the career of the young striker Vitor Roque has been full of twists and turns. Following his much-anticipated arrival at the Catalan club, he could not make a place for himself in Xavi Hernandez’s team and had to leave the Blaugranes only six months after his arrival as he joined Real Betis on loan.

There was a clear improvement in his fortunes following this loan move last summer, but his future at the Verdiblanco club is not looking too bright either, especially as they brought in some winter reinforcements in January, and it remains to be seen what Roque’s role will be in their team going forward.

Meanwhile, there has also been a lot of speculation about the Brazilian’s potential move back to his country, with Palmeiras reportedly interested in getting him.

As Mundo Deportivo

“No, no, no, nothing. Neither Vitor Roque nor his entourage nor Barcelona, with whom we have a very close relationship, have requested anything.”

“Nor have I, as Betis’ sporting director, said that he has to leave. All of that is completely false. Vitor has played many minutes this season, he is just another member of the squad, and with teammates pushing hard, now it’s his turn to step up as well.”

Recent speculation in Spanish media claimed that Barcelona have let it leak that Real Betis will be willing to part ways with Roque, as they will not only not have to pay his salary for the rest of the season, but his departure will also eliminate the possibility of them having to pay a €1.5 million penalty if the Brazilian does not play 50% of the games this season.

Fajardo’s comments thus eliminate some uncertainty surrounding the loanee’s immediate future, but the likelihood of Betis incurring this penalty was already quite low as Roque has played 97% of games and there are only 14 league games left.