Vitor Roque, a Brazilian attacker, is likely to join Spanish giants Barcelona in January, according to Club Athletico Paranaense, who announced on Saturday that the 18-year-old will play his final home game against Santos on Sunday before travelling to Europe.
In July, Barcelona agreed to recruit Roque from Athletico for a reported 40 million euros plus 21 million in add-ons, with the player agreeing to a seven-year contract.
Barcelona’s financial difficulties, as well as the club’s inability to comply with LaLiga’s Financial Fair Play (FFP) laws, have limited the club’s ability to acquire new players during the last two seasons, and Roque’s future is also uncertain.
However, because the club was able to create salary budget space owing to midfielder Gavi’s long-term knee injury, they will be able to integrate Roque into their squad in January, providing Barcelona with much-needed depth behind 36-year-old attacker Robert Lewandowski.
Roque, who had been out for two months with an ankle injury, made his comeback last weekend, playing 26 minutes in a goalless draw against Vasco. He played 45 minutes against Cruzeiro on Friday and scored his first goal since September.
Roque, a product of the same Cruzeiro academy that produced previous great Ronaldo Nazario, joined Athletico in 2022 and has scored 28 goals in 80 games. He helped them to the Copa Libertadores final last year.
He got his first cap for Brazil in March, becoming the 18-year-old and 25-day-old youngest debutant for the five-time world champions since a 17-year-old Ronaldo made his debut in 1994.