A host of Premier League sides, including Manchester United and Tottenham, tried to hijack Barcelona’s move for Vitor Roque with offers of €100 million.
Fabrizio Romano has tweeted about a possible hijack attempt from Manchester United and Tottenham, among others, for Barcelona’s Vitor Roque. The Catalan giants have secured the agreement for the 18-year-old wonderkid, with bids closer to €100 million arriving for the Athletico Paranaense.
Joan Laporta will heave a sigh of relief at having secured the signature of highly-rated teenager Vitor Roque. The task was more difficult than it seemed on paper, especially going by social media updates. Fabrizio Romano covered the chase through thick and thin.
Barcelona officially announced the capture of the 18-year-old wonder kid after hard negotiations with Athletico Paranaense over the last few weeks. Laporta wanted the player at all costs and knew of the tremendous competition for his signature.
His father had been speaking to several clubs over the past months, with English clubs also in the mix. His instagram timeline details his agent’s visits to London, where he reportedly had conversations with Chelsea and Arsenal.
Vitor Roque’s agent Cury: “I can confirm that English clubs tried to hijack Roque deal” 🇧🇷🇬🇧
❗️ “Tottenham and Manchester United sent important bids, way better than Barça; close to €100m”.
“Vitor only wanted Barça, there was no chance to change his mind”, told Charla Podcast. pic.twitter.com/ezCswxzLCQ
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) July 12, 2023
With their financial struggles, Barcelona was an outsider in this chase for Roque. However, Laporta found an agreement with Athletico Paranaense to transfer Roque, who also wanted to join only the Catalans. The Spanish giants will pay €30 million and an additional €26 million in add-ons for the highly-rated wonderkid.
Roque has signed a contract until the 2030/31 season and will officially arrive at the club in 2024. The add-ons are related to performances, goals and titles. Athletico-PR will also get €5 million if Roque makes it into the top three of the Ballon d’Or nominations in the future.
Despite Barcelona reaching an agreement with Roque days ago, the threat of rivals did not fade away. His agent said English clubs were actively trying to hijack the deal, with offers of €100 million being put on the table.
Manchester United and Tottenham were interested and looking for a new door into negotiations worth €100 million. There may have been a few more teams in the mix as they tried to outmuscle Barcelona with a better financial offer for Paranaense and Roque.
As per credible reports, Tottenham were actively trying to hijack the deal, and that may have been the case with others. However, Roque’s determination to join Barcelona fell kindly for Laporta in concluding the deal at the price it went about.
Roque is a promising talent, and his numbers at a tender age show the maturity in his game. He could become a solid prospect for Barcelona in the future, and they may have signed a gem of sorts.
