Barcelona name Vitor Roque price after rejecting Premier League offer

Tom Weber

Updated: 13 Aug 2024 13:10 BST
3 min read

Barcelona have turned down an opening offer for Vitor Roque from Everton, according to a report.

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The Brazilian wonderkid's time at his dream club looks to already be coming to an end. Just six months after signing him for a whopping €40 million, Barcelona are ready to offload the striker.

Roque's arrival was supposed to be a fairytale story but it quickly turned into a nightmare. Not favoured by then-coach Xavi, the 19-year-old was left to rot on the bench for most of the second half of last season.

Initially, his lack of minutes was put down to the fact that Xavi believed the teenager wasn't yet ready, but it is now clear that the Barcelona brass think that they would be better off selling him to recoup most of their original outlay in a bid to be able to do more business after signing Dani Olmo for €62m.

Everton want Roque

According to Florian Plettenberg of Sky Germany, Everton launched an opening offer for Roque worth €25m upfront and an additional €3m in bonuses.

This proposal was, however, swiftly rejected by Barcelona, with the journalist claiming that the Catalan giants are demanding €30m-€35m, which means that they are prepared to make a loss on the Brazilian.

Talks between the Toffees and Blaugrana sporting director Deco remain ongoing, with Everton keen to strike a deal. Roque is still under contract at Barcelona until 2031, but it seems that this deal could be ripped up after just six months.

It remains to be seen if other clubs will enter the race. Lazio have been linked but little concrete has materialised on that front. Roque reportedly received dozens of inquiries, including from the likes of Man Utd and Chelsea, when he was made available for transfer.