Vitor Roque arrives in Barcelona ahead of €40m January move

Vitor Roque landed in Barcelona on Wednesday ahead of his move to the Catalan club and is set to begin training with the first team on Friday afternoon.

Roque’s arrival at Barça following a €40 million ($43.6m) deal with Brazilian club Athletico-PR is almost complete, barring the player’s official registration with the club.

The transfer window in Spain opens on Jan. 2. Once the deal is finalised, Roque could make his official debut on Jan. 4 against Las Palmas.

Barça reached an agreement to sign Roque from Athletico in July, with the player inking a seven-year contract. Financial Fair Play rules have made signing players difficult for the Spanish champions, and Roque was initially set to join ahead of the 2024-25 season.

However, Barça’s injury problems and troubles in front of goal made bringing forward the 18-year-old’s move forward the favoured option.

The 18-year-old Brazil striker played his last official match for Athletico-PR on Dec. 3, leaving the club after scoring 28 goals in 80 appearances. Roque scored 21 of those goals in 44 matches in 2023, until a sprained right ankle suffered in September kept him sidelined for two months.

Roque’s first public appearance with Barça will take place on Saturday at the traditional open training session for the public at the Johan Cruyff Stadium, which will be his second session with his new teammates.