Vitor Roque: "Joining Barcelona was a rushed decision"

Looking back on his brief time as a Barcelona player, Vitor Roque admits that his decision to join them was "rushed." The Catalans formalised the signing for the then-18-year-old in the summer of 2023 after an impressive season with Athletico Paranaense, registering 21 goals and 7 assist for the club. The initial plan was to leave him on loan at the Brazilian side until the summer of 2024, but injuries to Gavi, De Jong and Pedri forced the 'Azulgrana' to accelerate Roque's move, bringing him to Spain in January 2024 - six months earlier.
"Was joining Barcelona rushed? Yes. The truth is that I was in Brazil and I didn’t know if I was going to come or not." Roque revealed. "I found out that I was going to come to Spain about a week before, I was on vacation, I didn’t know it. And when I arrived I had few opportunities, I didn’t have time to adapt either." In his 16 appearances under Xavi, Roque was only able to score twice, a disappointing number for a player of his potential.
Now on loan at Betis, Roque insists he is happy with the way things have turned out, labelling his spell at Barca as a valuable "learning experience," despite the struggles. "The truth is that I have had some bad moments there, but they serve as a learning experience. I’m very happy to have been at Barcelona," he said. "The things I’ve learned there help me today and I’m very happy."
The striker admitted that he was "a bit nervous" when he joined the 'Verdiblanco', fearing that the difficulties from Barcelona would continiue. However, in his second Spanish club, Roque has enjoyed a positive start to the 2024/2025 campaign, with 5 goals in 14 appearances so far. "I found a family at Real Betis," the 19-year-old stated in an interview on the club's official website.