One of the most controversial operations of Joan Laporta’s current mandate is undoubtedly that of Vitor Roque. The 19-year-old Brazilian forward signed with Barcelona in the summer of 2023 from Athletico Paranaense in exchange for 30 million euros plus 31 in variables but, incorporated into the first team in winter taking advantage of Gavi’s long-term injury, he was barely noticed. has seen play, relegated by Xavi Hernández, who has preferred to give minutes to other players. As this newspaper has been able to confirm, Vitor Roque was previously offered to Barça, specifically in January 2023, but those then in charge of the sports leadership, Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, ruled it out.
The promoters of Vitor Roque in that meeting were André Cury, his representative, and Deco, at that time a kind of advisor in Brazil for Barça without any remuneration or contract because his profession was that of representing players, a task incompatible with that of sports director. that he would play later.
The event took place on January 24, 2023 at a hotel in the city of Barcelona. Cury at that time was separated from FC Barcelona after having been his employee between 2012 and 2020, serving as main scouting in Brazil and earning around 680,000 per month for this. Rosell was the one who had incorporated him into the executive team and Bartomeu was the one who dispensed with his services with one year left in his contract, after having had him on the payroll for six seasons. With Laporta, Cury had carried out several operations during his first term, some of them very controversial (Keirrison and Henrique to start) but not since he was elected president again. Deco, for his part, had explicitly supported Laporta during the 2021 election campaign, but he was not part of the club, he was simply an ally or consultant in the Brazilian market. So it was natural to grant him an audience in the event of a possible call or proposal.
Cury and Deco sat on one side of the table and Mateu Alemany and Jordi Cruyff, at that time Barça’s football director and sporting director, respectively, listened to them from the other. The Brazilian sector spoke with enthusiasm about Vitor Roque, but circumstances prevented that possibility from being studied. Barça was immersed in matching the numbers to LaLiga’s requests to stop exceeding the financial fair play and the priorities of Xavi and Jordi Cruyff were already dedicating the money that could be invested in a defensive midfielder in the face of the certain departure by Busquets. In fact, on dates close to that appointment Endrick was also offered to Barça, but he was ruled out for the same reasons as Roque and would end up signing for Real Madrid. Deco always insisted that Vitor Roque was better than Endrick, but his football skills were not explored in depth because the club could not undertake signings that carried risk and were therefore impracticable.
Months later, Jordi Cruyff left the technical secretariat and Deco, in June, settled in Barcelona as de facto technical director in the absence of official confirmation that arrived in mid-August, the date on which he announced that he was committed to leaving to act as representative to avoid incompatibilities. Weeks before, he was the one who led the signing of Vitor Roque. Alemany, for his part, was in charge of closing the market before LaLiga, but without the confidence of the president.
This newspaper has contacted Deco to confirm the celebration of that meeting held in January 2023 in Barcelona with Cury. He claims not to remember that specific date, although he does acknowledge that every January he came to Barcelona with his family to go skiing and on those dates he was always at Laporta’s disposal, to whom he gave his support in the campaign, to inform him of players about those who should be alert. Deco not only remains convinced of the quality of Vitor Roque, but also confesses himself surprised by the, he understands, campaign to discredit such a young player by the Catalan media, in which he says he sees bad faith and evil.
Recently, André Cury has assured that he wants Vitor Roque to leave the club through a transfer, rejecting a loan.
