Vitor Roque arrived at FC Barcelona after a scoring stint at Athletico Paranaense and his debut in the senior Brazil team. However, coach Xavi pointed out that he “is a player in training”, justifying the lack of minutes that he had in his first semester on the team.
“The intention was not for him to come in December. The plan was for it to stay there (in Brazil) and continue growing. The option was opened with the injuries of Gavi and Balde. For their training, we believed it was the best,” said the coach in the press conference prior to tomorrow’s match against Almería.
READ MORE
++ Vitor Roque is ruled out by Barcelona for next season, according to the local press
++ Brazilian legend calls out Xavi for not giving Vitor Roque more playing time
++ Vitor Roque’s agent does not hide his anger: “Xavi has never spoken to him”
“The debate created makes no sense, he is young and is developing, he has paid money but he is a player in training. Whether he plays or not depends on the competition and I understand that there are players who are better now and that is why he plays less. “It is something that has happened all our lives and especially in young footballers,” he defended.
According to the Catalan media, Xavi will not have Tigrinho next season and the idea is to give him on loan so that he can gain experience in Europe and, in turn, free up some of the expenses required by financial fair-play to enable the hiring of reinforcements. This information has not yet been officially confirmed.
𝙓𝙖𝙫𝙞: "Habrá rotaciones. Tenemos jugadores que no participaron en el anterior partido" pic.twitter.com/lYYzAOck5a
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona_es) May 15, 2024
The press also indicated that there would be several European giants interested in adding the 19-year-old attacker, such as Inter Milan and Manchester United, although talks are not yet underway.
Barcelona has three LaLiga games left, including tomorrow’s visit to Almería, and its objective is to maintain second place. The time that Vitor Roque spends on the field of play in this last stretch could be an indicator of his intentions for next season.
Remembering Zagallo
Sambafoot Series launched a new documentary about the football legend Zagallo. Known as ‘Velho Lobo‘ and as superstitious as it gets, Zagallo helped shape what Brazilian football is nowadays — as a player and as a coach.
Binge the first five episodes available on Sambafoot’s Youtube channel. Stay tuned for upcoming releases as we keep telling this legend’s life story.
