Barcelona Looking to Offload Vitor Roque; Everton Makes €25 Million Offer

The €25 million bid, with an additional €3 million in add-ons, from Everton to acquire Vitor Roque has been made public.

The fact that the 19-year-old has failed to make his mark highlights yet another frustrating transfer for the Catalan club, which continues to accumulate failures in this area.

Follow along as we examine how Barcelona squanders its young talents and is set to be a mere bystander this season once again.

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Why Did Vitor Roque Fail to Take Off at Barcelona?

Signed for a hefty sum, Barcelona offered Vitor Roque and Athletico Paranaense the potential to receive up to €74 million if all targets were met.

In fixed fees alone, it is estimated that the Catalan club shelled out €40 million, making the popular “Tigrinho” one of the most expensive signings the club has made in recent times.

As such, expectations for him were sky-high, especially given the impressive football he showcased in Brazil.

Vitor Roque consistently demonstrated why he was poised to become one of the most significant players in European football.

With explosive pace, intelligence, and clinical finishing, he typically operated as a mobile centre-forward, capable of unsettling any opposition’s defensive setup.

Thus, he landed in Spain in January 2024, arriving during the mid-season transfer window.

By then, Barcelona’s hopes of winning La Liga were already distant.

Manager Xavi, aware of the club’s considerable effort to sign the youngster, opted to introduce him gradually.

Indeed, starting immediately was out of the question, as Lewandowski held the starting spot.

As a result, Vitor Roque was brought on towards the end of matches.

In his early appearances, he missed a few chances that he would normally convert—nothing unusual for an 18-year-old starting his journey at one of the world’s biggest clubs.

Regardless, in the match against Osasuna, where Barcelona was drawing 0-0, Tigrinho came on and scored the winning goal.

In the following game against Alavés, he again came off the bench and scored in Barça’s 3-1 victory. However, he was sent off in a bizarre decision by the referee, who made a poor judgment of the incident.

After that, Xavi varied his playing time, with rare instances where he played 60 minutes. Most of the time, he only got 15 minutes on the pitch, if he played at all.

The manager tried desperately to adapt the player to the left-wing position, where he clearly didn’t thrive.

This senseless persistence gradually eroded the player’s confidence until he eventually stopped being selected.

As a result, unable to find his rhythm, he ended the season sidelined.

Even with the arrival of Hansi Flick, the Brazilian couldn’t secure a second chance and was placed on the transfer list.

Spotting an opportunity in the market, Everton made a bid of €25 million, plus €3 million in add-ons if certain targets are met.

Barcelona, however, considered the offer and is asking for a fee between €30 and €35 million to sell him.

Image:  José Tramontin/Athletico

Barcelona: Wasting Talents

In recent times, Barça has become a terrible destination for players.

Where once a favourable environment helped develop top-level players at the start of their careers like no other place, the Catalan team has become synonymous with a lack of continuity for its signings.

Primarily, it’s necessary to recognise the utter madness that is the club’s administration. In the capital, their biggest rival, Real Madrid, manages to keep the machine running smoothly.

For instance, the two highest salaries in La Liga belong to Frenkie De Jong and Robert Lewandowski.

The former, another player who arrived at Barcelona young, has had good performances but has been far from a world-class standout. Moreover, he has suffered and continues to suffer from a history of injuries.

The latter, still one of the top names in his position, is now 35 years old. So, he is unlikely to bring any financial return to the club. So far, he hasn’t delivered much in terms of performance either.

Vinicius Jr and Bellingham are the third and fourth highest salaries in La Liga. Comparisons are unnecessary.

Now, when we look at the list of signings in recent years, it’s shocking.

Mountains of money have been spent, with almost no return.

Since the arrival of Neymar and Suárez, who truly made history with the blaugrana shirt, the rest of the signings have been an absolute horror show.

Among them are Philippe Coutinho, Griezmann, Pjanic, and Ferrán Torres—the most expensive of each season.

We can’t forget the signings that didn’t deliver the expected return. These include Frenkie De Jong himself, who was bought for €86.5 million.

Image: Getty Images

Trincão was signed for around €31 million and left for €7 million.

Sergiño Dest was bought from Ajax for €21 million and left on a free.

How can we forget Dembelé, who arrived from Borussia Dortmund for €135 million and left for €50 million to PSG?

Given this analysis, it’s hard to talk about the lack of ability of the players signed, especially since some of them have had positive runs in their careers.

It’s clearly a politically unstable environment, where players are not given enough time to adapt to the club, its culture, or even the country.

Moreover, it seems there’s no consultation with the coaching staff about signings to see if the desired players are truly needed and whether they would fit into Barcelona’s tiki-taka style of play.

This might be one reason why players like Gavi, Lamine Yamal, Ronald Araujo, and others have performed better, having come through La Masia’s academy or Barça B, where they can get direct exposure to the club’s philosophy without the pressure of the first team.

In conclusion, Vitor Roque is likely to move clubs, as staying in such an environment would only deteriorate his football. He needs to be playing, even if it’s for a smaller team like Everton.

There, he can show what he’s made of and aim for greater things.

Do you think Tigrinho can turn things around?

Image: Mateo Villalba/Getty Images

Written by Vitor F L Miller.