Barcelona will probably announce the arrival of the Brazilian youngster Vitor Roque soon. The Catalan newspapers SPORT and Mundo Deportivo know that the deal is now complete.
Barcelona is certain of the arrival of a very expensive Brazilian prodigy
Eighteen-year-old Roque, according to information from the sports newspapers, is on his way to Curitiba, where he will sign a six-year contract with Barcelona. It includes an option for an additional season.
At Barcelona they have a lot of confidence in Roque: despite the club’s financial problems, an agreement has been reached on a transfer fee of up to 61 million euros. Barcelona pays a maximum of 61 million euros for Roque: 30 million euros fixed and 31 million euros through bonuses and other constructions. One million euros will be transferred if Roque ever wins the Ballon d’Or.
According to SPORT, Xavi contacted Roque by telephone on Saturday after the coach had been told that everything had been arranged. The coach wants to use the youngster as Robert Lewandowski’s stand-in for next season. Ultimately, Roque must become the successor to the Polish goal-scoring machine.
Barcelona takes over Roque from Atletico Paranaense, for which the attacker has played 66 games so far. In it he scored 22 goals. In March of this year, Roque made his debut in the Brazilian squad.
Spain mourns the death of its only Ballon d’Or winner
Luis Suarez Miramontes has passed away. The only Spanish winner of the Ballon d’Or has turned 88 years old.
Suárez started his playing career in the fifties for Deportivo La Coruña and later played six seasons for Barcelona. As an attacking midfielder for the Catalans, he was voted the best player in the world in 1960. Alfredo di Stéfano had already won this prize twice as a Spaniard, but he is from Argentina and was given Spanish nationality during his time at Real Madrid.
Suárez went from Barcelona to Internazionale, where he played for nine years. The Spaniard ended his career at Sampdoria and then became a trainer. He played three times for the group at Inter and between 1988 and 1991 Suárez was national coach of Spain. As a player, he won the European Championship with his country in 1964.
