The sporting director of FC Barcelona, Deco, in an interview for the Brazilian media outlet Globoesporte, was open to talking about various issues related to the Blaugrana team, especially regarding signings and departures during his management.
The Portuguese executive focused on one of the less successful incorporations that the club has made recently: that of Vitor Roque. A move that generated much debate, but unfortunately for negative reasons.
'Tigrinho' did not perform at the expected sporting level. This led the culé team, a little more than a year after his signing, to definitively dispense with his services, accepting the offer from Palmeiras in the past winter market.
Error in the signing or in the timing of his arrival?
For Deco, the problem was not so much the signing itself, but the conditions in which Vitor Roque arrived at FC Barcelona, considered rushed by the Portuguese executive. In this sense, he pointed directly at Xavi Hernández, then coach of the first team:
"He arrived in January. For me, it was a mistake. But we didn't have many alternatives. The coach wanted it that way. The idea was for him to come in mid-2024. I think that hurt him."
Likewise, the Blaugrana sporting director explained that joining a team like Barcelona so quickly was a hard blow for 'Tigrinho's' career and his growth expectations: "At Barcelona, the demands are very high. If you worry too much about what the press says, you can have problems. His first six months were not good," he added.
| SEASON | MATCHES | GOALS | ASSISTS | MINUTES PLAYED |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023/24 | 16 | 2 | - | 353 |
Lack of technical and mental support in Vitor Roque's adaptation
In turn, Deco acknowledged that Vitor Roque's failure at Barça was probably also due to a lack of attention and support from the technical staff and the club, including the sporting director himself:
"I think there was a lack of attention from the 'staff' and the club to detect the problems he was having: adaptation, even at a mental level. We were not able to help him as he needed."
Xavi Hernández's influence on 'Tigrinho's' early arrival
Returning to Xavi Hernández, Deco was clear in explaining that coaches always have a say in the signings to be made and that the decision to bring forward the arrival of the '9' was made by the Egarense coach: "The decision to bring him in January was Xavi's. It was decided to bring forward his adaptation process by six months. In the end, that's football. Going to Europe very early is always complicated, and even more so if it's to a club like Barcelona or Real Madrid," he stated.
"The decision to bring him in January was Xavi's. It was decided to bring forward his adaptation process by six months."
Economic recovery after the sale of Vitor Roque to Palmeiras
Finally, Deco assured that the club recovered a good part of the investment after selling Vitor Roque to Palmeiras: "Sometimes things don't go as expected. And Vitor's was not such an expensive operation as they say. We recovered a good part of the investment: 25 of the 30 million euros that were invested," he concluded.
A version that contrasts with what was reported in the 'Barça Reservat' podcast of Catalunya Ràdio, where it was pointed out that the Catalan team also assumed the payment of taxes corresponding to Athletico Paranaense, raising the total cost of the operation to €40M. What will be the real amount? Only time will tell. For now, among so many back and forth, the matter remains an unknown.