FC Barcelona announced its third outgoing transfer in four days via a statement shared through social media and the club’s official website.
Friday saw the Catalans confirm that Ilkay Gundogan had returned to Manchester City free of charge despite still having around two years left to run on his contract.
Then on Sunday, not even 24 hours after a 2-1 La Liga home win over Athletic Club, it was revealed that defender Mika Faye has been sold to Rennes for $12 million (€10.8 million).
In a much better arrangement for Barca, it is set to receive 30% of any selling-on fee while the Senegalese can also be bought back for $28 million (€25 million) if he starts to blossom in France.
Now at the turn of a new week, where Hansi Flick’s men will play two games against Rayo Vallecano and Real Valladolid, Barca announced before 10AM local time that forward Vitor Roque has been loaned to Real Betis.
“Agreement reached between FC Barcelona and Real Betis Balompie for the loan of the player Vitor Roque until 30 June 2025, with the option of another year,” a statement on the matter began.
“The Andalusian side will both register the player and have the right to purchase.”
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Barca explained that it signed Vitor Roque a year ago “with the expectation he would come to Barcelona this summer, but it was brought forward to during the last winter window”.
In half a season, the Brazilian played 16 games and scored two goals, with the first of those helping earn three points in a 1-0 win over Osasuna.
“Contracted until the 2030/31 season, Tigrinho will be looking to get more game time with Betis to continue developing and adapting to the Spanish league,” Barca concluded.
With his path to regular minutes under Flick currently blocked by Robert Lewandowski and a fellow young promise in Pau Victor, going out on loan was the wisest move for Vitor Roque and it is now on him to prove himself in Seville.
For many Culers, however, it is baffling to understand why Barca – in times of financial hardship – agreed to pay $33.5 million (€30 million) for the 19-year-old, plus another $34.6 million (€31 million) in variable, if it had no clear plan in place to develop a talent compared to Real Madrid’s Endrick
