Vitor Roque's agent explains how Barcelona could afford €61m transfer

The agent of Barcelona striker Vitor Roque has confirmed the details of the transfer which helped the cash-strapped club complete a deal.

Last summer, Barcelona announced a deal had been reached to sign teenage striker Roque from Athletico Paranaense, paying an initial €30m (£25.7m) and agreeing to bonuses worth a further €31m (£26.6m).

The deal came at a time in which Barcelona's financial struggles are no secret. The club were unable to sign any new players in January, when Roque eventually joined the club, and continue to battle desperately against their massive debts, so committing to a €61m (£52.3m) deal for a teenage forward came as a real surprise.

However, Roque's agent has now revealed the terms of a favourable payment plan which allowed Barcelona to get the deal over the line.

"At the moment there is a queue of clubs that would be willing to sign him for €50m," Andre Cury told RAC1. "Barca has only paid €10m [so far].

"Barca pays €5m every six months until they reach the fixed €30m, and then to meet all the variables, Vitor would have to be a starter.

"If he is a starter at Barca at 20 years old, his price tag would be €200m, for sure."

Cury went on to confirm the variables involved which would take the deal to the full €61m.

"€1m for the Ballon d'Or and €2m or €3m for being among the three best with FIFA [at The Best awards]," he said. "The rest is for starting half of the games."

Roque has two goals in nine La Liga appearances so far, although he has started just one game and has instead been forced to accept sporadic appearances off the bench, with his solitary start the only outing which has lasted longer than 30 minutes.

"[Roque] also understands the situation, but I think that in some games he could have played him a few more minutes," Cury added.

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