Not every player gets the opportunity or the success at FC Barcelona to prove their worth. After all, the level of competition is expected to be at a high level at one of the biggest clubs in world football. Unfortunately, that prestige and pedigree that Barcelona maintains does not always translate well for certain players.
Several aspiring talents and even veterans are sometimes unable to make their mark at Barcelona due to the various demands and pressure of the Catalan club. Learning to deal with this new environment is never an easy task, and most players are unable to integrate themselves well enough to perform at their best.
Such was the case for Brazilian forward Vitor Roque as well, whose time at Barcelona was riddled with complications. Soon after, the South American forward had to be loaned off to Real Betis in order to give him a better chance of showing off his true potential in a top European league with more minutes.
Initially, the player did have his struggles in front of goal despite some early signs of promise. Even Manuel Pellegrini, the head coach of Real Betis, publicly spoke out about the issues that Roque was facing and highlighted the area in which he needed to improve.
Now, as highlighted by SPORT, that attention seems to have worked out for the 19-year-old forward. At the moment, he is already Real Betis’s joint-top scorer alongside Giovanni Lo Celso, having scored five goals each across all competitions and having established themselves as a duo to be reckoned with.
So far, he has played 10 games in La Liga for Real Betis, one game in the Copa Del Ray, and three in the UEFA Conference League. He already has three goals in the Spanish First Division and has two in the Copa Del Ray as well. While he is yet to score on the European stage, the player is gradually getting there.
Moving forward, Real Betis will have the Barcelona loanee all to themselves until the end of this season. However, it could end up becoming a longer stay if they decide to purchase 80% of his rights for €25 million.
Through this particular operation, Barcelona would also retain 20% of his rights which could help them break even at some point if Real Betis decides to sell him. This would, in turn, allow them to recover the original €30 million they spent on his transfer fee, since Betis would already have paid €25 million and more would come towards the Catalan club by retaining that 20% of his future rights.