Romano announces Barcelona’s INCREDIBLE €60 million signing

Robin Bairner

• 8 Jul 2023 18:54 BST
• 3 min read

Vitor Roque is a new Barcelona player, according to football transfers news expert Fabrizio Romano.

Roque has long been linked with the Camp Nou side, and Romano has now announced that the Primera Division champions have beaten off the competition to land the Athletico Paranaense wonderkid.

Barcelona could pay up to €60 million for the 18-year-old Brazil international, who will sign a contract with the club that runs until 2030.

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Roque is expected to remain with his Brazilian side until January, at which point he will join up with Xavi’s men.

Barca will pay an upfront fee of €30m, according to Romano, with that figure potentially doubling with bonus payments. The journalist reports that while some of these bonuses are imminently attainable, there are others that are more challenging, with one even linked with the teenager winning the Ballon d’Or.

The probability is, then, that the €60m figure will not be matched – and if it is, Barcelona will comfortably have had their money’s worth.

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Barca beat Man Utd to Vitor Roque’s signature

FootballTransfers understands that Manchester United made a late move for the teenager, and though Romano did not confirm that the Old Trafford club made a late hijack attempt, he did indicate that a leading Premier League club did attempt to block the deal.

For the Red Devils, though, it is too late, with both clubs having signed the transfer documents, according to the Italian, while Vitor Roque has himself signed his Barca contract, which commits him to the club for the next six-and-a-half years.

Roque is primarily a penalty box striker and will come in to support Robert Lewandowski when he does eventually arrive at Barcelona. He has 12 goals in 42 appearances in Brazil’s Serie A, including an impressive seven in 13 goals so far in the 2023 campaign.