Barcelona confirm €40m arrival of Brazilian wonderkid
- Vitor Roque has joined from Athletico Paranaense
- Fee in the region of €40m
- Teenager made Brazil debut in March
Barcelona have confirmed the signing of Brazilian prodigy Vitor Roque from Athletico Paranaense.
The young forward made his debut for the senior Selecao team in March and had been courted by the likes of Arsenal, Tottenham, Chelsea and Bayern Munich. However, Roque was always intent on joining Barça and a €40m fee was quickly agreed.
La Liga's champions edged closer to official confirmation earlier this month and have now confirmed the teenager's arrival, stating: "The player is expected to join the club for the 2024/25 season and will sign a contract until the 2030/31 season with a buy out clause of 500 million euros."
Nicknamed 'Tigrinho', Roque follows in the footsteps of stars like Neymar in joining Barça directly from a Brazilian team.
New Barça sporting director Deco recently said: "Obviously I'm very satisfied, Roque is a good player. Now it's a matter of time and the club will announce it."
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) July 12, 2023
Roque's debut for Brazil made him the nation's youngest ever player, beating the record previously held by Ronaldo by eight days. He was recently the top scorer in the 2023 South American U-20 Championship, scoring six goals in his nation's title triumph.
Roque will remain in the Brazilian Serie A next season before arriving in 2024/25, when he could return to rival Robert Lewandowski up front. The Poland striker is 34 now and will still have another two years remaining on his contract by the end of next season.
Ilkay Gundogan and Inigo Martinez have been brought in on free transfers this summer and are trying to shift a number of players.
Barça have tried to ditch attacker Ferran Torres but the Spaniard is not keen on leaving Camp Nou this summer. Franck Kessie, however, is open to a departure and has attracted interest from AC Milan and the Saudi Pro League.