Vitor Roque's agent accuses Xavi of lying over plan for striker
- Roque's agent publicly lashed out at Xavi's limited use of the striker before he was sacked
- Teenager saw his transfer brought forwards to January despite a summer switch being agreed
- Hansi Flick to offer Roque a fresh start
By Tom Gott
The agent of Barcelona striker Vitor Roque has accused former manager Xavi of lying about his plan for the teenager.
Barca struck a deal to sign Roque last summer and initially planned to keep the striker in Brazil until the end of this past season, but the decision was made to bring the deal forwards to January.
The 19-year-old ended up playing just 353 minutes under Xavi, prompting a furious reaction from Roque's agent Andre Cury, who threatened to pursue a permanent exit unless things changed next season.
In response, Xavi claimed he wanted to stick to the plan of keeping Roque with Athletico Paranaense until this summer, but Cury has now hit back once again.
"It is not true that Xavi wanted the player for December. He wanted him even before, for July, but they did not let him come," Cury told MARCA. "Honestly, Xavi called him personally."
Roque will soon hold talks with new manager Hansi Flick, who Cury urged to show some patience and allow the 19-year-old to develop like Real Madrid did with Vinicius Junior.
"Vitor Roque expected more minutes with Xavi. Now, with the new coach he is starting from scratch," Cury continued.
"In front of him [Flick], he has a world-class player like [Robert] Lewandowski. Vini, for example, took two years to adapt."
Cury has warned Barcelona that he will not see Roque sat on the bench for another season and has also ruled out a loan exit for the €61m signing, potentially giving Flick a headache as he seeks to build his new squad.
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