Barcelona exploit FIFA loophole to sell Roque despite LaLiga threats

Tom Weber

Updated: 25 Feb 2025 13:35 GMT
4 min read

Barcelona have found a way to cash in on Vitor Roque despite LaLiga and the Spanish federation threatening to block the transfer.

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The Brazilian's time in Catalunya is already coming to an end for good. Roque, after failing to establish himself following his arrival in January 2024, was sent out on loan to Real Betis in the summer.

According to transfer insider Fabrizio Romano, new Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick was unhappy with Roque's attitude and has made it clear that the 19-year-old does not have a future at the club.

At Real Betis, Roque was initially a regular but this state of affairs didn't last. In January, the Seville club seemingly already set about to replace him with the big-money signing of Cucho Hernandez.

Roque's importance has drastically diminished and Brazilian giants Palmeiras have been trying to pounce on the situation for some time. In recent days, they have reached an agreement with Barcelona for a €25 million transfer fee and a 20 per cent sell-on clause.

However, the deal is still not done with just three days remaining in the Brazilian transfer window.

Barcelona find FIFA loophole

Indeed, there are two stumbling blocks. For one, Betis still need to greenlight the deal. As the loan club have a purchase option for Roque, it is not simply a case of Barcelona being able to unilaterally recall him.

Additionally, Betis may ask for compensation or they could block the transfer altogether due to their participation in the Conference League. New signing Cucho was not registered for Europe, so there is a sense that Roque could still have a part to play this season.

The other potential roadblock emerged on Monday as news broke that LaLiga and the Spanish federation would not approve Roque's move to Palmeiras on the grounds that the Spanish transfer window has already long since closed.

Because Roque is a Barcelona player, the two governing bodies argue that he would first have to formally be recalled by the Blaugrana and re-registered for their LaLiga squad before the deal could go through. However, the registration window is closed, making this impossible.

Fortunately, Mundo Deportivo now reports that Barcelona have found a loophole in FIFA's rules to deal with this latter problem. The Spanish outlet claims that Article 5.2 of the FIFA Regulations is in the club's favour on this matter and could be enough to overrule LaLiga and the federation.

However, Barcelona still ultimately need to reach an agreement with Betis for the deal to go through.