While most of the squad of FC Barcelona is composed of young players, the club still needs a long-term solution to their center-forward position. Robert Lewandowski is more than capable of leading the offensive line for the team right now, but being 34 years old already, the club should not be relying only on him going into the next season.
Barcelona’s solution to this problem is the Brazilian teenager Vitor Roque. The youngster has been on fire in the Brazilian Serie A, and has also made his name with the junior Brazil international side. His performances have catapulted the player to new heights, and clubs across Europe are interested in him.
However, Barcelona have seemingly trumped these other suitors for the Brazilian, as they already have an agreement in principle to get the player this summer.
According to a report from Mundo Deportivo, FC Barcelona will pay €35 million fixed and €10 million in variables for the player. This amount will be paid in installments, and the two clubs are expected to conclude their negotiations in the coming weeks.
Furthermore, the player will sign a contract for six years at Barcelona, and thus his first contract with the Catalans will go up to 2029. His salary will be around €3 million and his release clause will be set at €1 billion.
This high release clause will put Roque in the same bracket as players like Pedri, Fati, Gavi, and Araujo, who all have high release clauses in their contracts. However, even if an agreement is reached between the three involved parties, it is not given that the player will join Barcelona this summer.
This is because it is not guaranteed that La Liga will register the player’s contract because of Barcelona’s problems with FFP, and if such a scenario is realized, the player will remain with his current club till the end of the year.
Thus, Barcelona will have to get rid of their surplus players to reduce wages and incorporate the player this summer. While Athletico Paranaense will prefer the player remains with them till December, as they are still competing for Copa Libertadores, a player of his quality in Xavi’s squad will certainly be helpful for the team for the hectic season coming ahead.
