Vitor Roque arrives Spain after completing Barcelona move

Vitor Roque arrived in Spain as a new Barcelona player and has put pen to paper on a seven-and-a-half-year deal with the Spanish champions which is valid until June 2031.

The 18-year-old has a €500 million (£427m) release clause inserted into his contract, and will now link up with his new team-mates in Catalonia.

A statement on the club statement read:

“He’s here. Vitor Roque landed in Barcelona early on Wednesday morning and is enjoying his first few hours as a Barca player in the Catalan capital. The Brazilian striker, who is signing a contract until 30 June 2031, has a buyout clause set at 500 million euros.”

Despite his tender age, Roque has already made a big impact in his native Brazil after progressing through the ranks at Atletico Mineiro and eventually began his senior career at Cruzeiro, making his debut as a 16-year-old in May 2021.

He moved onto Athletico for a fee of just under £4m in April 2022 – a club record – and established himself in the Copa Libertadores Team of the Tournament that year, helping Athletico to their first state championship victory in three years in 2023, and played his first senior match for Brazil in a 2-1 friendly defeat to Morocco in March.

The forward was also part of the Brazil side which won the Under-20 South American Championship and ended the competition as joint top scorer with team-mate Andrey Santos.

During the 2022/23 season, he managed 21 goals and eight assists across 45 appearances for Athletico, with his next chapter now set with a Barcelona side that faces a huge fight on their hands to retain last season’s La Liga title.

Xavi’s side currently sit fourth in the table with 38 points from 18 games – seven adrift of league leaders Real Madrid.

They are also currently behind Catalan rivals Girona, who have enjoyed a stunning campaign to date and sit second in the table.

Barcelona will be back playing after the winter break away at Las Palmas on January 4.