Ath. Paranaense in Barcelona to negotiate over Vitor Roque
Barça and Ath. Paranaense are already negotiating for Vitor Roque. The CEO of the Brazilian club, Alexandre Mattos, is in the Catalan capital where he plans to meet in the next few hours with Barça's sporting leadership to discuss the possible transfer of 'Tigrinho'.
The Brazilian executive is in charge of leading the negotiations on behalf of the 'Furacao' as the president of the board of directors, Mario Celso Petraglia, 79, is on medical leave for an undetermined period of time.
In recent weeks, the two clubs have opened a direct channel of communication, through which Barça formally expressed their interest in signing the 18-year-old striker once they have accelerated 'operation exit' for the players who Xavi does not want, or those on loan.
The presence of Alexandre Mattos in Barcelona, together with the striker's representative, André Cury, shows that the contact is moving in the right direction.
The footballer has already done his part. Through his agent, he has called on his current club to prioritise the offer that Barça can make in the next few days.
Therefore, 'Tigrinho' has already defused the possibility of organising an auction with English clubs, where Barça would have everything to lose, because both Arsenal and Chelsea, who have already moved for the player, currently have much more financial muscle.
Deco does not want surprises and is the one who is leading Barcelona's contacts for a player of whom he has gathered information in recent months when he was, at the time, an external adviser to president Joan Laporta.
The future director of football at Barça, who has closely followed the evolution of Vitor Roque in professional football, is convinced that, in the medium term, he will be a '9' of world reference.
This will be the first summit for Vitor Roque, as so far the two clubs have not sat at the same table. Barça will explain that they are hostage to Financial Fair Play and that, before buying, they need to structure sales.
The meeting will serve to outline the transfer price, which according to SPORT, between fixed and variables, could be close to 45 million euros.
This is a higher value than the 30 million plus 5 of variables with which the 'Furacao' priced their emerging star in the winter market.
The player's price has risen because of his explosion both in the South American U-20, where he finished champion and scorer, and in Ath. Paranaense itself, where he has confirmed that he is the best '9' in South America. His numbers are impressive for someone who is only 18 years old. In this 2022-23 he has already accumulated 16 goals and 5 assists.
