Not every player gets to experience their fairytale story at FC Barcelona no matter how much they may want it. The footballing world can be a cruel place, and it is exactly that more often than not. Unfortunately, it can even ruin relations between players and Barcelona itself as well.
For instance, the entire saga of Vitor Roque is one that has hardly been a pleasant one to revisit for either party. The 19-year-old Brazilian forward, a player who came to Barcelona with huge aspirations, is now on loan at Real Betis as his stay at his parent club did not offer what he or the Catalan club itself had hoped for.
Now under the guidance of Manuel Pellegrini in another La Liga team, Roque’s future remains up in the air as well. For now, he remains focused on his new team but, as highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, he also seems to be much happier at the Andalusian club as he revealed in a recent interview:
“(I spent) six or seven months without smiling (while at Barcelona). I’m very happy here. My family, who also went through tough times, is smiling with me. I spent six or seven months not smiling and went through difficult moments, but that’s in the past. Now I’m here and happy. That’s what matters most.”
However, Roque also seems to be quite certain that he would prefer to stay at Real Betis for a longer period of time if possible even though he clearly stated that the final decision will not be up to him:
“Honestly, it’s not up to me. I want to keep playing here at Betis. I’ve talked with my parents about it. Life here is good, and I’d love to play here longer.”
Even though the player is still on loan, he seems to be genuinely enjoying his time at Betis. Over at Barcelona, on the other hand, he would be taking on the challenge of having to overtake the likes of Lamine Yamal, Raphinha, or even Robert Lewandowski, all of whom are enjoying an exceptional run of form this season.
Keeping that in mind, it would perhaps be a tall order for Roque to fight for minutes over at the Catalan club. At Betis, at the very least, he continues to have consistent minutes despite not exactly finding the back of the net a lot, and it was something that he did talk about as well:
“Yes, of course. I’m a forward, so it worries me a little, but I’m training and trying to take it naturally. I train to play well and score. But what’s important isn’t just scoring, it’s helping the team, which is creating chances. I’m working toward that. If you keep getting opportunities, eventually the goals will come.“
At the moment, there is no immediate return for Vitor Roque in sight. Until the end of this ongoing season, the Brazilian forward will remain at Real Betis and a potential return to FC Barcelona will only be looked at after this campaign concludes.
